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A   BRIEF    HISTORY 


Roman   Literature 


SCHOOLS  AND   COLLEGES. 


Translated  and  Edited  from  the  German  of 
HERMANN   BENDER 


E.  P.  CROVVELL  and  H.  B.  RICHARDSON, 

PROFESSORS   OF    LATIN    IN   AMHERST   COLLEGE, 


GINN  &  COMPANY 

BOSTON  •  NEW  YORK  •  CHICAGO  •  LONDON 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1879,  ^X 

H.  B.  RICHARDSON, 

In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington 


gbt   gtbtnatum   grt<< 

GINN   &   COMPANY  •  PRO- 
PRIETORS .  BOSTON  ■  U.S.A. 


F\A 


n 


AUTHOR'S    PREFACE. 


T 


HE  present  Outline  History  of  Roman  Literature  is  spe- 
cially designed  to  meet  the  wants  of  schools.  It  is  in- 
tended primarily  to  contain  what  a  gymnasium  student  needs  to 
know,  and  at  the  same  time  all  such  material  taken'from  Roman 
literary  history  as  can  well  be  employed  in  Gymnasium  instruc- 
tion. For  this  reason,  completeness  of  treatment  has  from  the 
outset  not  been  designed.  On  the  other  hand,  I  trust  I  have 
not  omitted  anything  essential  to  the  purpose  already  stated.  In 
respect  to  form,  1  have  had  in  view  brevity  and  compactness  of 
statement,  together  with  the  greatest  possii)le  comprehensiveness 
and  precision. 

^*  As  regards  the  arrangement  of  the  work,  I  have  in  the  main, 

^     within   the  separate   periods,  followed  the   principle   of  division 
>S|*      according  to  topics,  yet   it  has  not  seemed  to  me  expedient  to 
preserve   entire   consistency  on   this  point  in   the  case   of  those 
J^^poets  and  prose-writers  who  have  been  active  in  more  than  one 
^        department.     I   have    preferred,   in   each   case,   to  give   the   full 
^5v^    treatment  of  these  writers  under  the  head  of  that  department  in 
'^^vhich  they  were  most  important ;   for  example,  Cicero  under  the 
"^^   head  of  Oratory.     This  inconsistency,  by  means  of  which  a  con- 
nected and  complete  view  of  such  literary  phenomena  is  gained, 
seems  to  me  justifiable. 

It  will  not  be  required  of  a  teacher,  who  prepares  a  work  like 


407238 


ii  AUTHORS   PREFACE. 

the  present,  that  he  shall  have  made  special  investigations  in 
every  direction.  What  may  properly  be  demanded  is,  that  he 
show  thorough  knowledge  of  the  literature  itself, — not  merely  of 
school  literature,  —  and  independent  judgment.  I  trust  that  these 
necessary  requisitions  have  been  met. 

The  accompanying  tables  contain  all  the  names  cited  in  the 
text. 

In  the  preparation  of  the  work  I  have  received  very  kind 
assistance  from  my  honored  teacher,  Professor  Dr.  von  Teuffel, 
of  the  University  in  this  place,  not  only  through  the  abundant 
information  drawn  from  his  History  of  Roman  Literature,  but 
also  through  personal  advice,  for  which  I  herewith  express  to 
him  my  most  heartfelt  thanks. 

H.  BENDER. 

Tubingen,  April,  1876. 


TRANSLATOR'S    PREFACE. 


THE  favorable  reception  given  to  Professor  Hermann  Ben- 
der's "  Grundriss  der  Romischen  Literaturgeschichte," 
published  a  few  years  since  in  Germany,  and  its  extensive 
adoption  as  a  text-book  in  the  secondary  schools  of  that 
country,  suggested  its  translation  for  the  use  of  schools  and 
colleges  in  America. 

The  author  enjoyed  peculiar  advantages  in  the  preparation 
of  the  work,  from  the  fact  that  he  was  a  pupil  of  the  late 
Professor  Dr.  Teuffel,  of  the  University  of  Tubingen,  the  cele- 
brated author  of  a  complete  History  of  Roman  Literature, 
lately  made  accessible  to  English  scholars  in  a  translation. 

In  preparing  the  present  manual,  the  aim  has  been  to  faith- 
fully reproduce  the  original,  both  in  subject-matter  and  form, 
with  only  such  slight  changes  and  omissions  as  seemed  to 
be  demanded  for  clearness  of  expression. 

For  the  convenience  of  teachers  and  students,  numerous 
references  have  been  made  to  the  best  English  works  on 
Roman  Literature,  and  also  to  valuable  treatises  on  particular 
authors. 

The  somewhat  meager  table  of  contents  has  been  greatly 
enlarged,  so  as  to  furnish  a  complete  analysis  of  the  work. 
Also  the  charts  at  the  end  have  been  thrown  into  much 
more  convenient  form  than  in  the  German  edition. 


IV  PREFACE. 

It  is  hoped  that  the  work,  as  thus  constituted,  will  meet  a 
want,  long  felt  by  classical  teachers,  of  a  text-book  on  Roman 
Literature,  which  should  contain,  in  compact  and  convenient 
form,  what  every  student  ought  to  know,  and  whicli  at  the 
same  time  should  serve  as  a  basis  for  courses  of  lectures  or 
for  more  extended  study. 

No  reference  has  been  made  to  American  editions  of  Latin 
authors,  since  it  has  been  taken  for  granted  that  teachers  are 
well  acquainted  with  them.  For  a  complete  bibliography  df 
Latin  Literature,  teachers  are  referred  to  the  admirable  work 
of  Professor  Mayor,  published  by  Macmillan  &  Co. 

Special  acknowledgements  are  due  to  Mr.  G.  H.  Stock- 
bridge,  late  of  the  L^niversity  of  Leipzig,  for  very  valuable 
assistance  in  the  work  of  translation  and  in  the  revision  of  the 
proof-sheets,  and  also  to  Mr.  W.  G.  Hale,  Tutor  in  Harvard 
University,  for  many  timely  suggestions. 

Amherst  College, 

Dec.  20,  1879. 


PREFACE  TO  THE  SECOND  EDITION. 


THE  changes  in  the  present  edition  consist  mainly  in  the 
insertion  of  the  Author's  Preface,  the  recasting  of  certain 
paragraphs,  and  the  correction  of  a  few  typographical  errors. 


Amherst,  March,  1880. 


ABBREVIATIONS. 


C.  —  Cruttwell's  History  of  Roman  Literature. 
Con.  —  Conington's  Miscellaneous  Writings. 

Diet.  Antiqq.  —  Smith's  Dictionary  of  Greek  and  Roman  Antiquities. 
Mer.  —  Merivale's  History  of  the  Romans  under  the  Empire. 
Mom.  —  Mommsen's  History  of  Rome. 
Pairy.  —  Parry's  Commentary  on  Terence. 

Pn.  —  Papillon's   Comparative   Philology   applied   to  Latin  and  Greek 
Inflections. 
R.  —  Roby's  Grammar  of  the  Latin  Language. 
Ry.  —  Ramsay's  Roman  Antiquities. 
S.  — Sellar's  Roman  poets  of  the  Republic. 

T.  —  Teuffel's  History  of  Roman  Literature,  translated  by  Wagner. 
W.  —  Wordsworth's  Fragments  and  Specimens  of  Elarly  Latin. 
Wh.  —  Whitney's  Language  and  the  Study  of  Language. 


ANALYSIS. 


INTRODUCTION. 


Late  development  of  Roman 

Literature i 

Character  of  the  Romans  .  .  i 
Their  lack  of  imagination  .  .  i 
Their  practical  tendency  .  .  I 
Comparison  with  the  Greeks .  i 
Attitude  of  contempt  towards 

Greek  culture i 

Want  of  time  for  literary  pur- 
suits   I 

Character  of  Roman  Litera- 
ture in  the  first  five  centuries    2 
Comparatively   late    develop- 
ment of  poetry 2 

Lack  of  a  native  Heroic  Epos ; 
the  reason  for  this  ....    2 


Need  of  an  impulse  from  with- 
out     a 

Indebtedness  of  Roman  Liter- 
ature to  the  Greek ....     2 
Gradual    advance    of   Greek 

ideas 2 

The  Italic  language  ....     3 
The  Latin  language  ....     3 

The  Alphabet 3 

Slow  development  of  the  lan- 
guage     

Influence  of  Ennius  and  Cicero 
Special  adaptation  to  prose  . 
Characteristics  of  the  Latin  . 
Stages  of  its  decline  .... 
,  Periods  of  Roman  Literature 


FIRST    PERIOD. 

Pre-Historic  to  240  n.c. 


Struggle  for  political  supremacy  7 
Independent  development  of  the 

Romans 7 

The  practical  direction  of  prose 

and  poetry 7 

Character  of  archaic  Latin      .     .  8 

Literary  barrenness  of  this  period  8 

I.    Poetry. 

Lack  of  a  national  Epos     ...  8 

Niebuhr's  theory  refuted     ...  8 

The  Carmen.    Versus  Saturnius  8 

Songs  on  historical  subjects   .    .  8 


Hymns  to  the  dead 9 

Carmina  triumphalia      ....     9 

Sacred  songs 9 

Carmen  Saliarc,  Carmen  Ar- 

valium 9 

Ritual  precepts 9 

Epitaphs 9 

The  Drama 9 

Its  origin 10 

Fescennini 10 

Satura 10 

.^.tellana 10 

Rude  character  of  the  above  .     .11 


vm 


ROMAN    LITERATURE. 


II.    Prose. 

Crude  and  fragmentary  nature 

of  early  prose ii 

Conservative  spirit  of  the  Ro- 
mans      II 

Official  Documents : 

Treaties ii 

Leges  regiae 12 

Commentarii  regum  ....  12 

Commentarii  magistratuuni   .  12 

Libri  majristratuum  ....  12 


Priestly  Literature : 

Libri  pontificum    .... 

12 

Commentarii  pontificum    . 

12 

Fasti 

12 

Annales  pontificum    .    .    . 

12 

Private  chronicles     .... 

13 

Laudationes  funebres    .     .     . 

13 

Leges  XII  Tabularum.    .    . 

13 

I  us  Flavianum 

13 

First  prose-writer : 

Ap.  Claudius  Caecus .    .    . 

13 

SECOND    PERIOD. 

From  Livius  Andronicus  to  Cicero,  240-70  B.C. 


General  character 14 

Growing    influence     of    Greek 

culture 14 

Causes  contributing  to  it  .    .     .  15 

Opposition  to  it  unsuccessful     .  15 

Its  restriction  to  the  aristocracy  15 
Growing    unpopularity    of    the 

national  writers 15 

Influence  of  Ennius 15 

Prominence  of  comedy  ...  15 
Beginnings  of  oratory,  history, 

and  legal  writings 16 

I.    Poetry. 

a.  —  T/te  Drama. 
The  national  popular  comedy. 
Satura  and  Atellana  ....     16 
Chief  representatives : 

Novius 16 

L.  Pomponius 16 

Popular  character  of  comedy     16 
The  Hellenistic  Drama. 
The  Roman  Theatre.    ...     17 
Unpopularity  of   the    actor's 

profession 17 

Classes   appealed   to  by   the 
drama 17 


Hellenistic  comedy. 

Fabula  palliata 17 

Its  prototypes 17 

Its  general  character.     ...  17 

Scene  of  the  palliata  .    ...  18 

Different  varieties i3 

Combination  of  two  or  more 

plays 18 

Chief  representatives : 

Livius  Andronicus      ...  18 

Ennius 18 

Cn.  Na2vius 18 

T.  Maccius  Plautus    ...  19 
His  life  and  extant  writings  19 
Characterization  of  Plau- 
tus    20 

His  wit  and  vivacity     .    .  20 

Character  of  his  verse.    .  20 

His  fame  in  later  times     .  20 

P.  Terentius 20 

His  life  and  writings    .    .  20 
Comparison  between  Ter- 
ence and  Plautus ...  21 
His  defects  and  excellences  21 
Elegance  and   dignity  of 

his  language     ....  21 

His  fame 21 


ANALYSIS. 


Statius  Caecilius     ....  21 

Luscius  Lavinius    ....  21 
The  National  Drama. 

Fabula  togata 22 

Its  general  character      ...  22 

Chief  authors: 

Titinius 22 

T.  Qiiinctius  Atta  ....  22 

L.  Afranius 22 

Tragedy. 

Hellenistic  tendency  ....  22 

Comparatively  slight  cultiva- 
tion    22 

Faults  of  the    Roman    tragic 

writers 22 

Fabula  praetexta 22 

Chief  authors : 

Livius  Andronicus.     ...  22 

Cn.  Naevius 22 

Q.  Ennius 22 

M.  Pacuvius 22 

L.  Accius 23 

6.  —  The  Epos. 

Its  character 23 

Chief  authors: 

Livius  Andronicus     ....  23 

Cn.  Naevius 24 

Q.  Ennius 24 

His  life  and  chief  work  .     .  24 

Character  of  the  Annales    .  24 

Use  of  the  hexameter      .     .  24 

Genius  of  Ennius   ....  25 
His  work  a  great  national 

Epos 25 

His     estimation     in     later 

times 25 

Satura ;  its  new  meaning  ...  25 
Chief  representative : 

C.  Lucilius 25 

His  life 25 

His  sharp  criticism  of  pub- 
lic affairs 25 


II.    Prose. 

General  character  rude  and  un- 
developed       26 

Comparison  with  early  German 

prose 26 

a.  —  History. 

Annalistic  character 26 

Discussion  of  its  trustworthi- 
ness        26 

Writers  in  Greek : 

Q.  Fabius  Pictor 26 

L.  Cincius  Alimentus     ...  27 

C.  Acilius  Glabrio      ....  27 

A.  Postumius  Albipus    ...  27 
Latin  writers : 

M.  Porcius  Cato 27 

His  life  and  character     .     .  27 

His  versatility     .....  27 

The  Origines 27 

Character  of  the  narrative  .  27 

Introduction  of  speeches    .  28 

Cato's  authorities  ....  28 

Cicero's  estimate  of  him      .  28 

Cassius  Hemina 28 

28 
28 
28 


L.  Calpurnius  Piso  Frugi  .     . 
C.  Sempronius  Tuditanus  .    . 
L.  Caslius  Antipater  .... 
Writers  of  contemporary  history : 
P.  Rutilius  Rufus  .     . 
Q.  Lutatius  Catulus  . 
Sempronius  Asellio  . 
L.  Cornelius  Sulla     . 
L.  Cornelius  Sisenna 
Claudius  Quadrigarius 
Valerias  Antias      .     . 
C.  Licinius  Macer     . 


b.  —  Oratory. 

Favored  by  the  character  of  the 
Romans,  and  by  the  freedom 
of  their  political  life  ....    29 


ROMAN   LITERATURE. 


Necessity  to  the  political  aspirant  29 

Cicero's   requirements    for   the 

orator 30 

Most  important  orators : 

M.  Porcius  Cato 30 

S.  Sulpicius  Galba     ....  30 

C  Gracchus 30 

M.  Antonius 30 

L.  Crassus 30 

Q.  Hortensius 30 

Rhetor ica  ad  Herenntum  .     .     .  31 

Cornificius 31 

c.  —  Special  Sciences. 

Jurisprudence 31 

Development  of  Roman  law 

normal 31 

Beginnings  of  legal  science    .  31 


Legal  tradition  in  certain  fam- 
ilies    01 

Chief  writers : 

S.  ^lius  Paetus 31 

P.  Mucius  Scaevola    ...  32 

Q.  Mucius  Scaevola    ...  32 

Archaeology 32 

Chiefly  occupied  with  linguis- 
tic matters 32 

Zealous  pursuit  of  philologi- 
cal studies 32 

First  Roman  philologist : 

L.  ^lius  Stilo 32 

Domestic  Economy  and  Agri- 
culture    33 

Cato 33 

'^Jago 33 

Condition  of  other  sciences  ,     .  33 


THIRD 

Golden  Age  of  Roman 

Predominance  of  Greek  culture  34 

Roman  students  in  Greece    .     .  34 

Greek  teachers  in  Rome   ...  34 

Contempt  for  the  Greeks  ...  34 

Real  dependence  upon  them     .  34 
Translation  of  Greek  works  in 

the  schools 34 

Development  of  the  book-trade  34 

Founding  of  public  libraries.     .  35 
Consequent  increase  of  literary 

activity 35 

Diverse  character  of  the  Cicero- 
nian and  Augustan  Ages    .     .  35 
Freedom  of  literature  under  the 

Republic 35 

Its  restraint  under  the  Empire  .  36 
Withdrawal   of    poetry   to    the 

court 36 

Importance   of   oratory   in   the 

Ciceronian  Age     .....  36 

Its  highest  development  in  Cicero  36 


PERIOD. 

Literature,  70  B.C.-14  a.d. 

Cultivation  of  rhetoric,  history, 

and  philosophy 36 

Comparative   unimportance    of 

poetry 36 

Diplomatic  character  of  litera- 
ture under  the  Empire  ...    36 
Supression  of  individuality    .    .    36 
Cautious  treatment   of  oratory 

and  history 36 

Prominence  of  the  professions  .  37 
Courtly  tone  of  poetry  .  ...  37 
Increased  attention  to  literature 

in  the  provinces 37 

None    of    the  great   Augustan 
authors  native  Romans ...    37 

I.    Poetry. 

a.  —  Tfte  Drama. 
The  artistic  drama  little  culti- 
vated     38 

Its  restriction  to  limited  circles.    38 


ANALYSIS. 


XI 


Its  retreat  before  the  Mime  and 

Pantomime 3^ 

The  Mime:    its   character  and 

subjects 3^ 

Chief  representatives : 

Decimus  Laberius     .    .     •     ■  39 

Pubhlius  Syrus 39 

The  Pantomime: 

Its  development  by  Bathyllus 

and  Pylades 39 

Its  general  character      ...  39 

b.—  The  Epos. 

Its  extensive  cultivation     ...  39 

Its  varieties 39 

Chief  representatives : 

Cicero 40 

P.  Terentius  V'arro    ....  40 

L.  Varius 40 

Pedo  Albinovanus     ....  40 

Rabirius 40 

Lucretius  Carus 40 

His  didactic  poem  de  rerum 

natura 40 

The  poet's  purpose    ...  40 

His  difficulties  and  success  41 

His  literary  importance  .    .  41 

P.  Vergilius  Maro      ....  41 
His  life  and  character    .   41-42 

Order  of  his  poems    ...  42 

1.  Bucolica 42 

Their  character  and  fame  .  42 

2.  Georgica 43 

Their  subject 43 

Aim  of  the  poet 43 

Degree  of  independence      .  43 

Their  geiieral  character.     .  43 

3.  /Eneis •  43 

Subject  of  the  poem  ...  44 

Virgil's  purpose      ....  44 

Defects  of  the  poem  ...  44 

Its  finest  parts 44 

Its  great  fame 44 


Minor  poems  of  Virgil.    ...  45 

Virgil  in  the  Middle  Ages     .     .  45 

Gratius  Faliscus 45 

Manilius 45 

c.  —  Satire  and  Epistle. 

Character  of  the  satire  ....  45 

Its  poetic  form 45 

Deviation   from    this    form   by 

Varro 45 

Q.  Horatius  Flaccus     ....  46 

His  life 46 

Description  of  his  person  .    .  46 

Varieties  of  his  poems  ...  47 

Probable  order  of  publication  47 

1.  Satires     ........  47 

Varied  character   of   their 

contents 47 

Their  careless  style     ...  48 

Their  effect  upon  the  reader  48 

2.  Epistles    ........  48 

Their  beauty  of  style  ...  48 

Questions  discussed  in  them  48 

The  finest  ones 48 

3.  Odes 49 

Their  time  of  publication    .  49 

Imitation  of  Greek  poets  .  49 
Growing   independence   of 

Horace 49 

Reflective  character  of  the 

odes 49 

Their  beauty  of  thought  and 

expression 50 

4.  Epodes 50 

Their  relation  to  the  odes 

and  satires 5° 

Sub-ects  of  the  epodes    .     .  50 

General  estimate  of  Horace  .     .  50 

Reflective  cast  of  his  mind     .  50 

His  sound  common  sense  .     .  50 

His  aim 50 

His    independence  in   social 

relations 50 


Xll 


ROMAN   LITERATURE. 


His  importance  as  a  poet  .    .  51 
Comparison  between  Horace 

and  Virgil 51 

d. —  Lyric  Poetry. 

Its  growth  in  importance  ...  52 
Copying    the    elegy    from    the 

Alexandrian  poets     ....  52 
Introduction  of  the  erotic  elegy 

by  Catullus 52 

General  character 52 

Lyric   poets  of  the   Ciceronian 
Age  : 

C.  Licinius  Calvus     ....  52 

C.  Valerius  Catullus  ....  52 

His  life 52 

Subjects  of  his  poems     .     .  52 

Character  as  a  poet    ...  53 
Lyric  poets  under  Augustus  : 

Cornelius  Gallus 53 

P.  Ovidius  Naso 53 

His  life  in  Rome    ....  53 

Banishment  by  Augustus    .  53 

Cause  assigned  by  Ovid     .  54 

His  writings 54 

His  facility  tn  versification  .  55 
Lack  of  earnestness    ...  55 
Comparison  with  the  Ger- 
man poet  Heine      ...  56 
Superficiality  of  Ovid's  po- 
etry      56 

Popularity  of  the  Metamor- 
phoses in  the  Middle  Ages  56 

Albius  Tibullus 56 

His  life  and  writings  ...  56 

His  elegiac  nature.     ...  57 

S.  Propertius 57 

Subjects  of  his  poems     .     .  57 
Cultivation    of    the    erotic 

elegy 57 

Smoothness  and   finish    of 

his  poetry 58 

Quintilian  on  the  Roman  elegy .  58 


n.    Prose. 

a.  —  Oratory. 

The  genus  Asiaticum    ....  58 

The  genus  Atticum 58 

The  genus  Rhodium     ....  58 
Their   most    prominent    repre- 
sentatives    58 

Restriction    of    oratory    in    the 

Augustan  Age 58 

Supplanted  by  Rhetoric    ...  58 

Oratory  of  the  schools  ....  59 
Orators  of  the  Ciceronian  Age  : 

Caesar 59 

M.  Calidius 59 

C.  Mummius 59 

C.  Curio 59 

M.  Caslius  Rufus 59 

Asinius  Pollio 59 

M.  Valerius  Messala  ....  59 
Chief  representative  in  the  Au- 
gustan Age : 

Cassius  Severus 59 

Quintilian's   characterization  of 

these  orators 59 

M.  Tullius  Cicero 59 

Survey  of  his  life  and  writ- 
ings       59-61 

His  activity  in  different  de- 
partments    61 

1.  Orations 62 

Quintilian's     judgment    of 

Cicero  as  an  orator   .     .  62 
Cicero's  oratorical  endow- 
ments       62 

His  zeal  for  knowledge  .    .  62 

Character  of  his  orations    .  62 
Most  important  ones  .     .    62-63 

2.  Rhetorical  writings   ....  63 

Cicero's  acquaintance  with 

the  theories  of  the  schools  63 

His      dissatisfaction     with 

them 63 


ANALYSIS. 


xm 


Practical  nature  of  his  own 
system 63 

His  rhetorical  works  in  de- 
tail      64 

b. — Cicero  and  Philosophy  in  Rome. 

Unfriendly  reception  of  Greek 
philosophy  by  the  Romans    .    64 

Expulsion  of  Greek  philosophers 
from  Rome 64 

Later  popularity  of  Greek  phil- 
osophy       65 

Predominance  of  Stoicism     .    .    65 

The  different  systems,  with  their 
representatives 65 

Dependence  of  the  Romans  in 
philosophy 65 

Constraint  of  Cicero's  political 
life 65 

His  wide  but  superficial  ac- 
quaintance with  the  Greek 
philosophers      .."....     66 

His  preference  for  the  New 
Academy 66 

His  hostility  to  Epicureanism    .     66 

Cicero's  chief  service     ....    66 

Form  of  his  writings     ....    66 

List  of  his  philosophical  works  .    66 

c.  —  Cicero' s  Letters. 

The  four  collections 68 

Their  publication  by  Tiro  and 

Atticus 69 

General  character  of  the  letters  69 

Their  value  as   an  historical 

authority 69 

The  diverse  nature  of  the  let- 
ters      69 

Description  of  the  collections    .  70 
Popularity  of  Cicero's  letters  in 

antiquity 70 

General  criticism  of  Cicero    .    .  70 


Existing  spirit  of  hypercriticism  70 

Defects  of  Cicero's  character     .  71 

His  historical  significance     .    .  71 

Virtues  and  services  of  Cicero  .  71 

d.  —  History. 

Activity  in  this  department  . 
Artistic  treatment  of  history  . 
The   writers    chiefly    men    en 

gaged  in  politics  .... 
Diversity  of  subjects  in  the  Cice 
ronian  and  Augustan  Age 
Writers  of  the  Ciceronian  Age 
T.  Pomponius  Atticus 
M.  TuUius  Cicero  .  . 
Q.  yElius  Tubero  .     . 
C.  lulius  Cassar    .     . 

His  life 

His  position  as  an  orator 
Works  on  various  subjects 
His  most  important  works 
Survey  of  their  contents. 
General  characterization 

Caesar 

His  literary  style     .     .     . 

His  motives  in  writing    . 

Continuation  of  Csesar's  his 

tories  by  Aulus  Hirtius  . 
Cornelius  Nepos  .... 
His  life  and  writings  .  . 
His  purpose  in  writing  . 
His  sincerity  and  aim  at  im 

partiality 

Defects  of  his  works  .     . 
Theory  to  account  for  them 
C.  Sallustius  Crispus      .    . 
His  life  and  chief  writings 

1.  Catilina 

Most  interesting  portion 

2.  Bellum  lugurthinum  .    , 

Its  general  character  . 

3.  Historiae 


of 


XIV 


ROMAN    LITERATURE. 


Martial's  judgment  of  Sal- 
lust    77 

Sallust's  historical  insight   .  78 
Contrast    between    his   life 

and  his  writings  ....  78 

His  impartiality 78 

His  strength  and  his  weak- 
ness     78 

Peculiarities     of    his     lan- 
guage       78 

Writers  of  the  Augustan  Age  : 

Augustus 78 

M.  Vipsanius  Agrippa  ...  79 

M.  Valerius  Messala      ...  79 

Asinius  PoUio 79 

T.  Livius 79 

His  life  and  writings  ...  79 

His  aim  in  writing  history  .  79 

Livy's  qualities  of  mind.     .  80 
Judgment   of  the   ancients 

concerning  him  ....  80 
His  stand  in  religion    and 

politics 80 

Defects  of  his  work     ...  80 

His  authorities 81 

Excellences  of  his  work  .    .  81 

His  popularity 81 


Pompeius  Trogus 82 

lustinus 82 

The  acta  senatus  and  acta  populi  82 

c.  —  Special  Sciences. 

M.  Terentius  \'airo 82 

His  life  and  learning      ...  82 

The  scope  of  his  works  ...  83 
List  of   his    most   important 

works 83 

General  criticism 83 

Value  of  Varro's  works  ...  84 

S.  Sulpicius  Rufus 84 

A.  Ofilius 84 

C.  Trebatius  Testa 84 

M.  Antistius  Labeo 84 

C.  Ateius  Capito 84 

Writers    on    Archasology    and 
Philology : 

P.  Nigidius  Figulus  ....  84 

M.  Verrius  Flaccus   ....  84 

Pompeius  Festus 84 

lulius  Hyginus 85 

Architecture 85 

Vitruvius  Pollio 85 

Geography 85 

Agrippa 85 


FOURTH    PERIOD. 

The  Silver  Age  of  Roman  Literature,  14-117  a.d.,  from 
Tiberius  to  the  Death  of  Trajan. 


Imperial  despotism  unfavorable 

to  literature 86 

Suppression     of     freedom      in 

speaking  and  writing    ...  86 

Consequent  insincerity      ...  86 

Character  of  the  language    .    .  87 

Changes  in  style 87 

Influences  favorable  to  literature  87 
Prominence  of  poetry  and  rhet- 
oric   88 


Learned  character  of  the  for- 
mer   

Predominance  of  the  Epos    .     . 

Its  cultivation  by  the  emper- 
ors    

Its  artificiality 

School  oratory  and  learning.     . 

History  still  under  constraint     . 

Literary  importance  of  Spain 
and  Gaul 


ANALYSIS. 


XV 


I.   Poetry. 

a.  —  The  Drama. 
Predominance  of  the  Mime  and 

Pantomime 

Absence  of  acting  dramas     .     . 
Tragic  poets : 

Pomponius  Secundus 
,    Curiatius  Maternus   . 

Seneca      

His  ten  tragedies    . 

Their  authenticity  . 

French  imitators  of  Seneca    90 

Lucanus 9° 


b.  —  The  Epos, 

Nero 

M.  Annaeus  Lucanus    . 

His  life  and  writings  . 

His  poem,  Pharsalia 

His  repubhcan  bias  . 

His  Stoicism     .     .    . 

General  character  of  his 
C.  Valerius  Fiaccus  .    . 
C.  Silius  Italicus  ... 

His  life  and  writings  . 
C.  Papinius  Statius  .    . 

Character  of  his  poems 

The  Silvae    .... 
Writers  of  Didactic  Epos 

Germanicus  .... 

Csesius  Bassus  .    .    . 

Lucilius  lunior      .     . 


c.  —  Satire  and  Fat 
.Abundance  of  materials  forS 


Its  restriction  to  literary  and 

cial  matters  .... 

Crabbedness  of  its  tone 

Its  chief  representatives 

A.  Persius  Fiaccus     . 

Nature  of  his  satires 


90 
90 
90 
90 
90 
91 
91 
91 
91 
91 
91 
92 
92 

92 
92 
92 


Seneca 93 

His  attack  on  the  emperor 

Claudius 93 

Petronius  Arbiter 94 

His  satirical  romance     .    .  94 
Abstract  of  the  story  ...  94 
Its  coarseness  and  wit    .    .  94 
Question    of    identity    dis- 
cussed      94 

Decimus  lunius  luvenalis      .  95 

Subjects  of  his  satires     .     .  95 

Their  origin 95 

His  views  on  mankind  and 

religion 95 

His  power  of  vivid  portrayal  95 
Languidness    of    his    later 

satires 95 

The  most  interesting  satires  96 
The  Fable : 

Phaedrus 96 

His  fables 96 

Aim  of  the  poet 96 

d.  —  Lyric  Poetry  and  Epigram. 

.Artificiality  of  Lyric  Poetry    .     .  96 

Csesius  Bassus 97 

Statius 97 

Aruntius  Stella 97 

Sulpicia 97 

The  Epigram 97 

M.  Valerius  Martialis    ...  97 

H  is  life 97 

Character  of  his  epigrams  .  97 

His  excellences 97 

Lessing's  estimate  of  him    .  97 

His  defects 97 

II.   Prose. 

a.  —  History. 

Suppression  of  free  thought  .    .    98 
Fate  of  A.  Cremutius  Cordus    .    98 


XVI 


ROMAN   LITERATURE. 


Writers  on  contemporary  history  : 

Augustus 98 

Tiberius    .     .  9^ 

Claudius 98 

Agrippina  the  Younger  ...    99 

Vespasian      .         99 

Aufidius  Bassus 99 

Phny  the  Elder 99 

Fabius  Rusticus 99 

Cluvius  Rufus 99 

Velleius  Paterculus  ....  99 
His  life  and  writings  ...  99 
His  summary  treatment  of 

the  earliest  history  ...     99 
Diffuseness  of  the  latter  part 

of  his  work 99 

Its  subjective  character  .  .  99 
Its  artificial  style  ....  99 
Excellences  of  the  work  .  .  99 
Valerius  Maximus  ....  100 
His  collection  of  models  for 

rhetoricians 100 

Arrangement  of  the  work  .  100 
The  absurdity  of  its  style  .  100 
Its  value  as  a  compilation  .  100 

Q.  Curtius  Rufus 100 

His  history  of  Alexander  the 

Great 100 

General  belief  respecting  the 

time  of  writing  ....  100 
Defects  of  the  work  .  .  .  100 
The  author's  purpose.  .  .  100 
His  imitation  of  Livy.  .  .  loi 
His  skill  in  dramatic  group- 
ing      loi 

Cornelius  Tacitus loi 

Discussion    respecting    the 

place  of  his  birth   .     .     .  loi 
His  life  and  writings   .     .     .  loi 
I.  Dialogus  de  oratoribus  .     .  loi 
General  character    .    .     .  loi 
Discusssion  of  its  authen- 
ticity     102 


2.  De   vita    et    moribus    lulii 

Agricolas 102 

General  character   .    .     .  102 

3.  Germania 102 

The  monographic  charac- 
ter of  the  work      .     .     .  102 
Its  satirical  purpose    .    .  102 

4.  Historiae 102 

Most  interesting  portions  103 

Time  of  composition  .    .  103 

5.  Annales 103 

Its   relation   to  the    His- 

torise 103 

General  character   .     .     .  103 

Characterization  of  Tacitus    .  103 

His  carefulness  in  research  103 

Nature  of  his  authorities     .  103 

His  ruling  political  princi- 
ple        103 

His  admiration  of  the  Re- 
public       104 

His  reluctant  recognition  of 

the  Empire 104 

The  underlying  bitterness  in 

his  writings 104 

His    conscientiousness  and 

chief  excellences.     .    .    .  104 

Lack  of  philosophical  creed  104 

His    position    in    religious 

matters 104 

His   doubt   concerning  the 

divine  government .     .    .  104 

Development     of    Tacitus' 

style 105 

Its  dignity  and  solemnity     .  105 

b.  —  Oratory. 

The  great  number  of  rhetorically 

educated  men 1Q£, 

Lack  of  freedom  and  opportuni- 
ty of  speaking 105 

Restriction  of  oratory    ....  105 

Its  retirement  into  the  schools   .  105 


ANALYSIS. 


Seneca  the  Elder io6 

Character  of  his  writings    .     .  io6 
Their  importance  for  the  his- 
tory of  oratory io6 

M.  Fabius  Quintihanus  .  .  .  io6 
His  hfe  and  character  .  .  .106 
His  Institutio  orator ta  .  .  .  106 
His  preference  for  Cicero  .  .  107 
Scope  of  the  work     ....  107 

Pliny  the  Younger 107 

His  life  and  writings  ....  107 

His  letters 107 

Comparison  with  Cicero's  let- 
ters     107 

The  man  as  seen  in  his  works  108 
Most  interesting  letters  .     .     .  108 

c. — Philosophy. 
Activity  in  this  department    .     .  108 
Character  of  philosophical  wri- 
ters   108 

Predominance  of  Stoicism     .     .  108 
Punishment  of  Greek   philoso- 
phers      108 

Seneca  the  Younger 108 

His  life  and  character  .  .  .  108 
His  sincerity  of  purpose  .  .  109 
Loftiness  of  moral  view  .  .  .  109 
Tradition  concerning  him  .     .  109 

His  style 109 

Varieties  of  his  works    .    .     .  109 
Th^  EpistulcB  ad  Liicilium     .  no 
Seneca's  views  compared  with 
Christianity no 


(/.  —  Special  Sciences. 

Writers  on  Law  : 

Masurius  Sabinus no 

Sempronius  Proculus     .    .     .  no 
The  two  schools  of  law  .    .     .  no 

Science  of  language no 

Interest  of  the   Emperors  in 

it no 

Claudius no 

Grammarians  and   Commenta- 
tors : 
Q.  Remmius  Palasmo     .    .    .  in 
Q.  Asconius  Pedianus    .    .     .111 
M.  Valerius  Probus   .     .     .     .111 

^milius  Asper in 

Flavins  Caper    .   " in 

Velius  Longus in 

Mathematical  writers : 
Sextus  lulius  Frontinus      .     .  in 
Life  and  writings    ....  in 

Hyginus in 

Their  works  on  military  sub- 
jects   in 

Geography 112 

Pomponius  Mela 112 

Pliny  the  Elder 112 

His  life  and  writings  .     .     .112 
Scope  of  his  work  .    .     .     .112 

His  style 113 

Cornelius  Celsus 113 

Scribonius  Largus     .    .     .    .113 

Agriculture 113 

Moderatus  Columella   .     .     .113 


FIFTH  PERIOD. 

The  Later  Empire,  after  the  Death  of  Trajan,  117  a.d. 

Decline  in  politics  and  literature  114  Comparative   unimportance    of 

Lack  of  independence  ....  114  poetry 114 

Artificiality  of  literature     .     .    .114  Literary  importance  of  the  prov- 

Pedantry 114  ii^ces 114 

Archaistic  tendency 114  Style  of  the  provincial  writers    .  115 


XVlll 


ROMAN    LITERATURE. 


Political  confusion  of  the  third 

century 115 

Triumph  of  Christianity    .     .     .  115 

Decay  of  the  old  Roman  charac- 
ter      115 

General  estimate 115 

I.  Poetry. 

a.  —  Lyric. 

The  Pervigilium  Veneris  .     .     .116 

Decimus  Magnus  Ausonius  .     .  116 

His  life  and  writings  .     .     .     .  116 

Variety  of  his  works  .     .     .     .116 

His  Idyll  Mosella 116 

Aurelius  Prudentius  Clemens     .  116 

b.  —  Epic. 

General  character 117 

Claudius  Claudianus  .  .  .  .117 
Character  of  his  poems  .  .  .  117 
Christian  poets : 
C.  Vettius  Aquilius  luvencus  .  117 
Flavius  Merobaudes  .  .  .  .117 
Apollinaris  Sidonius  .    .     .     .117 

Dracontius .118 

Venantius  Fortunatus     .     .     .118 

c.  —  Didactic. 

Nemesianus 118 

Festus  Avienus 118 

Claudius  Rutilius  Namatianus  .  118 

His  descriptive  poem     .     .     .118 
Fable 119 

Avianus 119 

II.  Prose. 

a.  —  Oratory. 

Cornelius  Fronto 119 

His  life  and  character  .  .  .  119 
His  reliance  upon  rhetoric  .  119 
His  archaistic  preferences  .     .119 


L.  Apuleius 

His  life 

Character  as  a  writer 
His  Aletamorpkoseon . 
Imitation  of  Lucian 
Other  works  of  Apuleius 

Q.  Aurelius  Symmachus    . 
His  orations  and  epistles 


.  119 
.  120 
.  120 
.  120 
.  120 
.  120 
.  120 
.  120 


b.  —  Philosophy. 

Opposition  to  it 121 

Marcus  Aurelius 121 

Mystic  character  of  philosophy  .  121 

Apuleius 121 

Christianity  opposed  to  philos- 
ophy   121 

Effect  of  this  opposition     .     .     .  122 

Boetius 122 

His  life  and  works      ....  122 
His  de  coiisolatione     ....  122 

c.  —  History. 

Activity  in  this  department     .     .  122 

Lack  of  freedom 122 

Influence  of  rhetoric      ....  122 
Biographical  treatment .     .     .     .  122 

Compendia 122 

Ecclesiastical  history  ....  122 
C.  Suetonius  Tranquillus  .  .  .  122 
His  life  and  writings  ....  122 
His  biographical  works  .  .  .  123 
Importance  of  his  extant  work  123 
Its  anecdotical  character  .  .  123 
Defects  of  the  work  .     .  123 

Fiorus 123 

His  writings 123 

L.  Ampelius 124 

Granicius  Licinianus     ....  124 

Marius  Maximus 124 

Scriptores  Historias  Augusta?    .  124 
Their  biographies  of  the  Em- 
perors      124 

Value  of  their  writings    .     .    .  124 


ANALYSIS. 


XIX 


Aurelius  Victor 124 

His  historical  works  ....  125 
Works  ascribed  to  him  .     .    .125 

Eutropius 125 

Ammianus  Marcellinus  .  .  .125 
His  life  and  writings  ....  125 
The  author's  standpoint     .     .  126 

His  style 126 

Defects  of  the  work    ....  126 

Sulpicius  Severus 126 

Orosius     .........  126 

Magnus  Aurelius  Cassiodorius  .  126 

His  works 126 

lordanis 126 

Gildas 126 

Gregorius  of  Tours 126 

Official  state-records      ....  126 


d.  —  Special  Sciences. 

Law 127 

Highest  development  under  the 

Emperors 127 

Civil  law 127 

Later  codification  of  legal  au- 
thorities       127 

Most  important  jurists : 

Salvius  lulianus 127 

Sextus  Pomponius 127 

Gaius 127 

His    introduction    to    legal 

science 127 

iEmilius  Papinianus  ....  128 

His    responsa     and     quces-  128 

tiones 128 

Domitius  Ulpianus 128 

lulius  Paulus 128 

Herennius  Modestinus  ....  128 
Collections  of  constitutiones : 

Codex  Gregorianus    ....  128 

Codex  Hermogeninnus  .     .     .  128 

Fragmenta  \'atican.i  ....  128 
Codex  Theodosianus     .     .     .128 


Corpus  iuris 128 

Its  separate  parts : 

Codex  lustinianeus.     .     .  128 

Institutiones 129 

Digesta  or  Pandects    .     .  129 

Novellas 129 

Philology  and  Archaeology    .     .  129 

Their  high  standing 129 

Encyclopaedic  character    .     .    .  129 

1.  Compilers : 

Aulus  Gellius 129 

His  Nodes  AtticcE  ....  130 

Importance  of  the  work  .     .  130 

Nonius  Marcellus      ....  130 

Macrobius  Theodosius .     .     .  130 

Martianus  Capefla     ....  130 

His  writings 130 

2.  Writers    of    text-books    and 

commentaries : 
Terentius  Scaurus     ....  131 
C.  Sulpicius  Apollinaris     .     .  131 

Helenius  Aero 131 

Pomponius  Porphyrio   .     .     .131 

Plotius  Sacerdos 131 

Terentianus 131 

luba 131 

Marius  Victorinus     .     .     .     .131 

^lius  Donatus 131 

Flavius  Charisius 131 

Diomedes 132 

Servius  Honoratus    ....  132 

Priscianus 132 

His  grammatical  works  .     .  132 

Geography 132 

C.  lulius  Solinus 132 

.^thicus  Ister 132 

The  itineraria 132 

Notitia    and   curiosum    urbis 

RomcB 132 

Maps 132 

.Astronomy 132 

Firmicus  Muternus  (pagan)    .  132 
Firmicus  Maternus  (Christian)  133 


XX 


ROMAN    LITERATURE. 


Military  science     .     . 
Flavius  Vegetius    . 
Scope  of  his  work 

Medicine 

Marcellus  Empiricus 
Cselius  Aurelianus 

Agriculture  .... 
Gargilius  Martialis 
Palladius  Rutilius  . 


133 
133 
133 
^33 
133 
^33 
133 
^33 
133 


e.  —  Patristic  Liteiature. 
The  Church  Fathers     ....  134 

Minucius  Felix 134 

His  Octavius 134 

Tertullianus 134 

His  character  and  writings  .  134 

Cyprianus 134 

Arnobius 134 


Lactantius  Firmianus     .    .     .  135 
Beauty  of  his  style  ....  135 
His   acquaintance  with   the 
classics 135 

Ambrosius 135 

His  personal  character    .    .  135 
His  liymns 135 

Hieronymus 135 

His  learning 135 

His  translation  of  the  Bible  135 

Aurelius  Augustinus  ....  135 

His  versatility 135 

His     ecclesiastical     impor- 
tance   135 

The  de  civitate  Dei     .     .     .  135 
The  coiifessiones      ....  136 

Pope  Leo  I 136 

Pope  Gregory  I 136 


INTRODUCTION. 


1. 

IT  was  only  at  a  late  period  that  Roman  literature  rose  to 
any  thing  like  a  high  plane,  namely,  after  the  time  when 
the  Romans  came  into  more  active  interco.urse  with  the 
Greeks,  and  received  from  them  abundant  and  varied  in- 
citement. The  Roman  character  was  in  itself  poorly  adapted 
to  literary  development.  There  were  wanting  just  those 
qualities  which  fit  a  people  for  literary  and  especially  for 
poetical  productions,  and  by  which  the  Greeks  were  distin- 
guished,—  wealth  and  creative  power  of  imagination,  fine 
sense  of  form  and  instinctive  appreciation  of  the  beautiful, 
tendency  towards  the  ideal,  and  free  development  of  indi- 
viduality. The  peculiarities  which  make  up  the  Roman 
character  lie  in  the  domain  of  the  practical,  —  keen  intel- 
lect, dispassionate  reflection,  a  cast  of  mind  masculine  in 
its  earnestness  yet  not  youthful,  inclination  to  work,  ener- 
getic striving  after  the  real,  restraint  of  individuality  by  the 
interests  of  the  whole,  strict  subjection  of  the  individual  to 
the  state. 

The  literary  activity  of  the  Greeks  appeared  to  the  Ro- 
mans as  an  aimless  pastime  and  as  busy  idleness  ;  even  the 
Roman  otium  —  at  least  in  the  earlier  times  —  was  filled 
with  a  more  earnest  activity  than  the  free  and  easy  otium 
Gracum,  and  the  lively  TroXv-n-payfioa-uvrj  (busy  curiosity) 
of  the  Athenians.     On  this  account  the  Romans  stood  for  a 


2  ROMAN    LITERATURE. 

long  time  in  an  exclusive  and  contemptuous  attitude  towards 
the  Greek  mind ;  indeed,  even  when  the  higher  circles  had 
long  begun  to  allow  themselves  to  be  penetrated  by  the 
elements  of  Greek  culture,  they  displayed,  in  public  at 
least,  in  view  of  the  continued  unpopularity  of  such  Grecian 
tendencies,  an  aristocratic  disdain  and  an  often  affected  con- 
sciousness of  their  own  superiority.  With  their  conscien- 
tiousness in  the  service  of  the  family  and  the  community, 
the  Romans  had  neither  time  nor  inclination  for  purely 
literary  occupations.  For  more  than  five  centuries,  there- 
fore, nothing  was  produced  except  in  such  departments  as 
from  the  outset  made  no  demand  for  artistic  perfection,  as, 
for  example,  the  popular  farce,  or  such  as  served  a  defi- 
nite practical  purpose,  as,  for  example,  the  sacred  lyric, 
the  writing  of  matter-of-fact  chronicles,  and  the  collection 
of  legal  formulae. 

In  close  connection  with  this  stands  the  fact  that  among 
the  Romans  —  in  distinction  from  most  other  nations  — 
prose,  which  can  confine  itself  more  to  essentials,  was  de- 
veloped to  classical  perfection  before  poetry,  for  which 
beauty  of  form  is  a  chief  consideration. 

The  reason  why  the  Heroic  Epos,  wliich  forms  the  earliest 
and  at  the  same  time  the  brightest  ornament  of  Greek  poetry, 
did  not  make  its  appearance  in  Rome  as  a  native  produc- 
tion, is  found  in  this  fact,  that  the  unimaginative  Romans 
had  no  mythology  rich  in  imposing  figures  and  events,  and 
that  in  their  religion  the  idea  outweighed  the  symbol. 

Since,  thus,  literature  found  unfavorable  soil  with  the 
Romans,  a  strong  impulse  from  without  was  necessary  in 
order  to  set  Roman  literature  in  motiori ;  accordingly,  Ro- 
man poetry  in  its  highest  forms  rests  in  reality  upon  Greek 
foundations ;  and  also  prose,  even  in  those  departments 
•which   in   their   nature    and    origin    were   peculiar    to    the 


INTRODUCTION.  3 

Roman  nation,  particularly  in  oratory,  has  derived  its  artistic 
form  from  the  Greeks.  This  permeation  with  Greek  ele- 
ments did  not  find  its  full  and  unhindered  completion  until 
in  the  sixth  and  seventh  centuries  of  the  city,  and  there- 
fore all  that  was  produced  before  this  time,  though  often 
possessing  originality  and  strength,  is  still  crude  and  unde- 
veloped, only  an  attempt  at  and  beginning  of  artistic  sym- 
metrical production. 


The  Italic  language,  like  its  sister  languages,  Greek 
and  Sanskrit,  is  a  member  of  the  Indo-European  family  of 
languages.^  The  Latin  is  a  dialect  of  the  Italic  language. 
By  its  side  stand  the  coordinate  Umbrian  and  Sabellian 
(Oscan)  dialects,  which,  however,  gradually  fell  into  disuse.^ 

The  alphabet  of  the  Latin  language  was  borrowed  from 
the  Greek,  probably  before  the  founding  of  Rome.  It  con- 
sisted originally  of  twenty-one  letters,  but  suffered  in  the 
course  of  time  many  changes,  k,  for  example,  disappear- 
ing, and  g  being  added.  There  were  changes,  also,  in  the 
orthography  and  pronunciation,  r,  for  example,  being  often 
substituted  for  s,  while  the  aspiration  of  the  mutes  first 
appeared  in  the  time  of  Sulla,  and  the  doubling  of  the  con- 
sonants not  before  Ennius.^ 

Thus  the  Latin  language  did  not  obtain  rules  and  perma- 
nency in  orthography,  pronunciation,  and  grammar  until  the 
time  when  literature  at  Rome  had  begun  to  take  a  loftier 
flight,  i.e.,  in  the  sixth  and  seventh  centuries  of  the  city. 
Moreover,  the  acquaintance  with  the  Greeks  had  a  great 

1  Pn.  II ;  Wh.  192. 

2  C.  9 ;  Mom.  i.  33  ;  Pn.  12  ;  \V.  2. 

3  C.  II ;  Mom.  i.  281 ;  Pn.  46;  R.  i.  21 ;  W.  5. 


4  ROMAN    LITERATURE. 

influence  upon  the  development  of  the  language.  Among 
the  Romans  themselves,  Ennius  marks  an  epoch  in  the 
formation  of  the  language  by  introducing  the  hexameter. 
Not  until  the  time  of  Cicero,  however,  did  classical  Latin 
take  the  place  of  archaic. 

The  entire  character  of  the  Latin  language,  as  well  as 
of  the  Romans  in  general,  was  peculiarly  suited  to  prose. 
In  earlier  times,  especially,  the  language  was  too  stiff  and 
angular  to  serve  as  a  light  and  flowing  dress  for  poetry  ;  and 
in  general  those  qualities  do  not  prominently  belong  to  the 
Latin  language  which  are  found  in  the  Greek,  and  which  led, 
of  themselves,  to  their  use  in  poetry.  These  are  lightness 
and  elegance,  freedom  and  flexibility,  natural  euphony  and 
rhythm. 

The  qualities  which  characterize  the  language  of  the 
Romans  are,  rather,  an  intelligence  aiming  at  precision  of 
expression,  logical  accuracy  and  syntactical  completeness, 
rhetorical  dignity  and  moderation,  and  an  immobility 
amounting  almost  to  clumsiness.  Thus  the  Latin  language 
was  especially  suited  to  use  in  prose  in  the  practical  de- 
partments of  jurisprudence,  legislation,  oratory,  and  annal- 
writing,  which  has  chiefly  to  do  with  the  statement  of  facts. 

Prose  reached  its  highest  development  among  the  Ro- 
mans in  Cicero,  but  it  was  not  until  the  Augustan  Age  that 
it  acquired  the  roundness,  grace,  and  flexibility  necessary  for 
poetry.  If,  therefore,  we  call  the  Ciceronian-Augustan  Age 
the  classical  period  of  prose  and  poetry,  from  that  time  on 
a  gradual  decline  in  the  language  becomes  noticeable.  Sim- 
plicity and  naturalness  disappear  more  and  more  ;  the  lin- 
guistic sense,  as  well  as  the  clearness  of  distinction  between 
prose  and  poetry  becomes  turbid  ;  artificial  adornment  and 
rhetorical  overloading  get  the  upper  hand ;  the  cultivated, 
literary  language  becomes  more  widely  separated  from  the 


INTRODUCTION. 


language  of  the  people  ;  provincial  elements  win  themselves 
a  place.  Thus  arise  successive  periods  of  decline,  which 
have  been  termed  the  Silver,  Brass,  and  Iron  Ages  of  the 
language. 


The  following  periods  of  Roman  literature  are  to  be  dis- 
tinguished :  '  — 

I.  —  The  Pre-Historic  Period,  to  Livius  Andionicus,  240  B.C. 

II.  —  The    Archaic    Period,    from    Livius   Andionicus    to    Ciceio, 
240-70  B.C. 

III.  —  The  Golden  Age,  70  B.C.-14  a.d. 

1.  The  Ciceronian  Period. 

2.  The  Augustan  Period. 

IV.  —  The  Silver  Age,   14-117A.I). 

V.  —  The    Period    of   Positive    Decline   (Brass    and   Iron   Ages), 
1 17  A.D.  to  the  Sixth  Century. 


ROMAN    LITERATURE. 


FIRST    PERIOD. 

Pre-Historic,  to  240  B.C. 

IN  the  first  five  centuries  the  Romans  had  too-httle  time 
and  too  httle  culture  and  freedom  of  movement  to  be 
able  to  achieve  any  thing  important  in  literature.  It  was  a 
time  of  contest  and  struggle  ;  externally,  for  the  existence  of 
the  city  and  state,  and  for  winning  and  maintaining  the  su- 
premacy over  Italy ;  internally,  for  placing  the  constitution 
on  a  firm  basis  and  fixing  the  rights  of  the  patricians  and 
plebeians.'  The  Roman  people  were  in  great  measure  cast 
upon  their  own  resources ;  they  advanced  according  to 
their  own  national  standards  and  laws  ;  not,  however,  as  if 
isolation  had  taken  place,  —  there  was  no  lack  of  contact 
with  the  Greeks  in  Lower  Italy  ;  but  this  contact  was  not 
continuous,  not  sought,  and  not  understood,  and  hence  it 
lacked  that  deeper  influence  without  which  the  Romans 
could  not  attain  to  a  literary  development.  Poetry  was  still 
a  thing  of  natural  growth,  without  art  or  form,  and  having 
no  ideal  content.  The  practical  ends  of  social  life,  of  his- 
torical and  family  tradition,  and  of  religion,  gave  it  direc- 
tion. In  like  manner,  prose  served  only  practical  interests 
and  needs.    No  genius  had  yet  appeared  to  furnish  rule  and 

1  €.  23. 


8  ROMAN    LITERATURE. 

form  to  the  language  and  literature,  or  give  them  a  higher 
content.  The  language  of  this  early  period  was  scarcely  or 
not  at  all  understood  in  the  time  of  Cicero  and  Horace ; 
and  while  it  has  for  us  a  high  historical  and  linguistic  inter- 
est, it  has  none  from  a  literary  and  aesthetic  point  of  view. 

I.    POETRY. 

In  Epic  poetry  the  Romans  have  nothing  which  is  worthy 
to  be  mentioned  beside  the  writings  of  Homer  among  the 
Greeks.  Neither  in  this  nor  in  any  subsequent  period  did 
the  national  spirit  of  the  Romans  produce  such  an  Epos. 
Niebuhr's  theory  of  a  national  Epos  containing  the  oldest 
Roman  legends  presupposes  a  poetic  endowment,  and  espe- 
cially a  myth-creating  imagination,  such  as  the  Romans  did 
not  possess.' 

On  the  other  hand,  a  rhythmic  form  is  not  wanting,  which 
was  employed  in  all  cases  outside  of  the  simplest  notices  and 
records.  This  is  the  carmen  {casmen,  from  cano),  some- 
thing intermediate  between  prose  and  poetry.^  This  carmen 
employed  the  so-called  versus  Saturnius,  which  appears 
most  frequently  in  the  form 

and  which  is  characterized  by  a  division  into  an  Iambic 
and  a  Trochaic  half,  as  well  as  by  a  certain  proportion  of 
accented  syllables  (the  unaccented  syllables  can  be  sup- 
pressed), while,  in  other  respects,  it  appears  to  be  well-nigh 
without  rules. 3 

This  rhythm  was  used  in  the  oldest  songs  on  histori- 
cal   subjects,    which  —  perhaps    generally    with    musical 


1  C.  26;  Mom.  i.  291.  2  c.  25;  T.  i.  79. 

^  C.  30;  Mom.  i.  296;  W.  396. 


FIRST   PERIOD.  9 

accompaniment  —  were  sung  at  table  ;  i  also  in  hymns  to 
the  dead  {nenicB),  sung  originally,  perhaps,  by  the  rela- 
tives, later  by  professional  mourners ;  in  the  carmina 
triumphalia,  both  as  responsive  song  and  with  the  re- 
frain lo  tnumphe !  and  especially,  also,  in  sacred  songs, 
such  as  the  Cannen  Saliare^  which  the  Salii  chanted  in 
their  festal  processions  in  honor  of  Mars,  and  the  song  of 
the  Arval  Brethren,  sung  in  May  on  the  occasion  of  the 
ambarvalia  (circuit  of  the  fields),  which,  by  a  discovery 
made  in  Rome  in  1777,  has  been  in  part  rescued  from 
oblivion.-^ 

Besides  the  above,  there  were  rhythmic  ritual  precepts, 
of  which  an  example  is  seen  in  the  tab  idee  Iguvinee'^  found 
at  Iguvium  in  1444,  oracles,  formulae  relating  to  the  weather, 
incantations,  and  the  like.  Also,  epitaphs  employed  the 
same  rhythm  ;  for  example,  that  of  L.  Corn.  Scipio,  consul 
298  B.C.  :  ^  — 

Cornelius  Lucius  |  Scipio  Barbatus 

Gnaivod  patre  prognatus  |  fortis  vir  sapiensque, 

Quoids  forma  virtu-  |  tei  pan'suma  fuit, 

Consol  censor  aidilis  |  quel  fuit  apdd  vos, 

Taurasia  Cisadna  |  Samnio  cepit, 

Subigit  omne  Loucanam  |  op^idesque  abdodcit. 

The  Drama  appeared  early  in  the  form  of  a  popular 
play,  which  found  fruitful  soil  in  the  bantering  disposition 

1  Cic.  Tusc.  i.  2;   iv.  2.     Hor.  Od.  iv.  15,  25,  seqq.,  and  elsewhere. 

2  C.  15;  T.  i.  81;  W.  564. 

3  The  beginning  reads  — 

Enos,  Lases,  juvate  ! 

Neve  lue  rue,  Marmar,  sins  incurrere  in  pleores; 

i.e.,  Nos,  Lares,  juvate  neve  luem  ruem  (=  ruinam),  Mamers,  sinas  incur- 
rere  in  plures.     C.  14;  Mom.  i.  294;  W.  385. 

*  T.  i.  83 ;  Diet.  Geog.  s.  Iguvium. 

5  C.  17  ;  Mom.  i.  579 ;  Pn.  237  :  R.  i.  41S  ;  T.  i.  97  ;  W.  397. 


lO  ROMAN    LITERATURE. 

inherent  in  the  character  of  the  people,  and  in  the  talent  for 
observation  and  improvisation  peculiar  to  the  Italians. ^  The 
germ  of  this  lay  already  in  the  form  of  the  responsive  song 
(for  example,  that  of  the  Arval  Brethren);  and  when  music, 
dancing,  and  disguises  were  added,  the  national  comedy 
was  complete,  though  it  was,  indeed,  without  plan,  and  im- 
provised at  will  as  a  sort  of  carnival  play. 

The  Fescennini,^  for  example  (so  called  from  the  town 
Fescenninum,*^  in  southern  Etruria),  possessed  this  simpUcity, 
and  .were  far  from  being  suited  to  stage  representation.  They 
were  exhibitions  of  a  rather  loose  character  at  country  festi- 
vals, abounding  in  rude  personal  jokes,  and  confined  in  later 
and  more  cultivated  times  to  wedding  occasions. 

The  Satura^  also  had  a  primitive  character.  This  was 
a  comic  representation,  accompanied  with  song,  dance,  and 
flute-playing,  conducted  at  first  by  the  country  youth,  but 
after  the  erection  of  a  theatre  in  Rome,  364  B.C.,  it  was 
placed  in  the  hands  of  professional  ballad-singers  and  actors 
{hisfriones).  It  was  thus  somewhat  more  subject  to  rules, 
and  better  suited  to  the  stage,  than  the  Fescennini.^ 

After  the  drama  as  based  on  rules  of  art  came  into  vogue, 
the  Satura  was  employed  as  a  livel\'  after-play  {exodiitin). 
The  same  fate  was  also  suffered  by  the  Atellana,^  a  play 
introduced  into  Rome  soon  after  210  B.C.,  that  is,  not  until 
the  Second  Period.  This,  in  other  respects  similar  to  the 
Satura,  was  characterized  by  certain  standing  figures,'''  and 

1  T.  i.  2.  2  C.  28;  Mom.  i.  295.  3  Cf.  Hor.  Epp.  ii.  i,  139,  seqq. 

■t  Either  scil.  lanx,  a  disli  filled  with  all  sorts  of  fruits,  i.e.,  tuthfrtitti 
potpourri ;  or  =  song,  masquerade  of  the  Saturi,  "  full  people." 

5  T.  i.  5;  C.  29. 

6  Sc.  fdbula,  so  called  from  the  Campanian  town  Atella ;  also  called 
ludtcriim  Oscum.     T.  i.  12 ;  Mom.  i.  297. 

"  These  were  Maccus,  the  harlequin  ;  Bucco,  the  gourmand  ;  Pappus,  the 
bamboozled  old  man  ^  pantaloon  ;   Dossenus,  the  sly  pickpocket  =  dcttore. 


FIRST   PERIOD.  II 

was  represented  not  by  regular  actors,  but  by  masked  Ro- 
man youth,  and  so  had  a  higher  character  than  the  Satura. 

All  these  representations  depended,  for  the  most  part, 
upon  improvisation  and  not  upon  written  compositions,  and 
from  their  lack  of  plan  and  unity,  as  well  as  from  their 
rough  and  uncouth  nature,  had  no  real  literary  importance. 
Not  until  the  following  period  did  the  Satura  and  Atellana 
receive  artistic  treatment. 


II.    PROSE. 

Literary  prose  was  not  developed  in  Rome  until  in  the 
course  of  the  sixtli  century  of  tlie  city.  The  pioneer  writer  in 
prose  literature  was  the  elder  Cato.  All  the  literary  remains 
of  the  earlier  period  consist,  with  few  exceptions,  of  short, 
crude  records  of  events,  laws,  formulae  for  worship,  and  the 
like,  in  which  also  the  Saturnian  verse  was  not  unfrequently 
employed. 1  The  conservative  spirit  of  the  Romans,  the 
tenacity  with  which  they  held  to  tradition,  i)rompted  them 
to  make  official  as  well  as  private  records  of  past  events,  for 
the  most  part,  indeed,  with  a  panegyric  tendency  and  with- 
out historical  conscientiousness. 

Official  documents  of  an  historical  nature  were  :  a  few 
treaties-  belonging  to  the  earliest  times, —  for  example, 
that  of  Tarquinius  Superbus  with  the  Gabii,  written  upon 
bullock's  hide,  and  the  treaty  with  the  Latins  (493  B.C.), 
engraved  upon  a  brazen  pillar.^ 

Ancient  in  subject  matter,  but  in  respect  to  the  time 
of  their  writing  incorrectly  referred  to  the  kings,  were  the 

1  C.  35  ;  T.  i.  40.  2  T.  i.  84. 

3  The  commercial  treaty  with  Carthage,  usually  assigned  to  the  year 
509,  Is  referred  by  Mommsen  and  others  to  the  year  348. 


12  ROMAN   LITERATURE. 

leges  regiae,'  old  laws  eslablished  by  precedent,  later 
called  iits  Papirianum ;  also  the  commentarii  regum, 
which,  without  doubt,  contained  formute  and  instructions 
concerning  the  official  duties  of  the  kings. 

The  commentarii  magistratuum-  were  a  sort  of 
business  hand-book  for  those  filling  the  secular  offices,  and 
among  these  the  statistical  tables  of  the  censors,  fabi/he 
censoricc,  were  of  special  importance.  The  names  of  the 
officers  were  recorded  in  the  libri  magistratuum,  of 
which  those  written  on  linen  were  called  libri  lintei. 

Priestly  literature  was  more  extensive  than  secular.  To 
this  belonged  the  libri  pontificum,^  which  contained  the 
ritual  for  religious  ser\'ices  and  the  axioms  of  priestly  law  ; 
also  the  commentarii  pontificum,  probably  a  collection 
of  legal  decisions.  In  like  manner,  also,  libri  and  com- 
mentarii of  other  colleges  of  priests  are  mentioned,  —  for 
example,  those  of  the  augurs. 

The  priests  also  had  charge  of  tlie  fasti,''  which  were  lists 
of  the  festivals,  court-da)s,  and  games,  together  with  brief 
historical  notices,  and  from  which  the  calendar  took  its 
origin.  Under  the  name  fasti  are  included,  also,  lists  of 
the  consuls  {fasti  consulares),  of  the  triumphs  {fasti  triiun- 
phales),  and  of  the  priests  {fasti  saceiulotah's). 

The  annales  pontificum^ — also  called  annates  maximi 
—  were  intended  for  public  use.  They  were  brief  records 
of  the  most  remarkable  events,  in  particular  of  the  prodigies, 
posted  up  on  a  white  tablet  in  a  public  place.  Copies  of 
these  annals  afterwards  formed  a  collection  of  eighty  books, 


1  W.  253;  C.  15;    Clark:  Early  Roman  Law. 

2  C.  88  ;  T.  i.  93  ;  Mom.  i.  586. 

»  C.  88,  104  ;  Diet.  Antiqq.  941 ;  Ry.  328  ;  T.  i.  86. 
<  Diet.  Antiqq.  522;  Ry.  366 ;  T.  i.  87;  W.  539. 
6  Mom.  i.  588  ;  C.  103 ;  T.  i.  91. 


FIRST   PERIOD.  I3 

and  were  considered  a  main  authority  for  the  earliest  his- 
tory, though  they  were  not  so  in  reahty,  on  account  of  their 
prevaiHngly  priestly  character  and  standpoint,  and  especially 
since  the  oldest  annals  were  destroyed  in  the  Gallic  con- 
flagration, 390  B.C.  On  the  other  hand,  several  private 
chronicles  ^  reached  back  without  doubt  beyond  this  time, 
having  probably  been  begun  in  the  noble  families  at  a  very 
early  period.  Though  the  main  purpose  of  these  records 
was  the  glorification  of  some  particular  family,  yet  they  were 
more  reliable  than  the  laudationes  funebres,-  or  funeral 
orations,  which  were  likewise  written  and  preserved  in  the 
family  archives,  and  contributed  not  a  litUe  to.  the  corrup- 
tion of  Roman  history. 

The  leges  XII  tabularum,'*  which  were  committed  to 
memory  in  the  schools  as  late  as  Cicero's  time,  and  which 
were  destroyed  in  the  Gallic  conflagration,  were  yet  in  exist- 
ence in  a  restored  copy  in  the  second  century,  a.d.  The 
legis  actiones,  commonly  called  ius  Flavianum,''  and  pub- 
lished, together  with  the  fasti,  in  304  B.C.,  by  Cn.  Flavius, 
served  as  a  commentary  to  the  laws  of  the  twelve  tables. 
These  actiones  were  originally  in  the  exclusive  possession  of 
the  Patricians. 

The  first  and  only  Roman  that  appeared  in  this  period  as 
a  prose  writer  was  Ap.  Claudius  Caecus,''  Censor  in  312, 
whose  oration  against  the  peace  with  Pyrrhus,  held  in  the 
senate  in  280  b.c,  was  extant  for  a  long  time  after. 

1  C.325;  T.  i.94- 

2  Diet.  Antiqq.  559 ;  Ry.  426. 

3  W.  503;  C.  15;  Mom.  i.  365;  Ry.  151;  T.  i.  99;  Hadley:  Roman 
Law,  74. 

4  Mom.  i.  598  ;  Ry.  244;  T.  i.  lOO. 

5  C.  34;  Mom.  i.  580. 


SECOND   PERIOD. 

Livius  Andronicus  to  Cicero,  240-70  b.  c. 

THIS  period,  in  which  Rome  attained  the  summit  of 
its  political  greatness,  was,  in  a  literary  point  of  view, 
still  incomplete  and  immature.'  The  national  productions 
still  remained  clumsy  and  crude  ;  the  language  itself  needed 
to  be  shaped  and  moulded,  but,  to  that  end,  the  imitation 
of  Greek  models  permitted  as  yet  too  little  independence 
and  freedom  of  movement,  and  only  near  the  close  of  this 
period  did  Greek  culture  become  so  far  prevalent  as  to 
gradually  fit  the  Romans  for  original  productions  of  a 
higher  order. 

The  artistic  literature  of  the  Romans  rests,  however,  en- 
tirely upon  a  Greek  basis.-  Greek  influence,  which  had 
never  been  entirely  wanting,  became  ever  deeper,  more 
general,  and  more  potent.  Intercourse  with  the  Greeks  in 
Lower  Italy,  and,  after  the  first  Punic  war,^  in  Sicily,  and 
also,  after  the  second  Punic  war,  in  Greece  and  Asia  Minor ; 
the  influence  of  Ennius  in  Rome  after  204  ;  the  warm  re- 
ception of  the  new  culture  on  the  part  of  most  of  the  noble 
families,  especially  by  the  Scipios ;  the  presence  of  numer- 
ous Greeks  in  Rome  ;  the  spread  of  the  Greek  language  and 

1  C.  23;  T.  i.  103.  2  c  26.     Mom.  i.  298,  600;  ii.492.    S.  5,  8. 

8  Cf.  Gell.  N.  A.  xvii.  21:  — 

Pocnico  bello  sccundo  musa  pinnato  gradu 
Intulit  se  bellicosam  in  Romuli  gentem  feram. 

14 


SECOND    PERIOD.  15 

the  multiplication  of  Greek  authors  ;  the  employment  of 
Greek  poets  in  the  instruction  of  the  youth  ;  the  increasing 
intercourse  of  the  nations  consequent  upon  the  extension  of 
the  Roman  empire  ;  —  all  these  causes  naturally  contributed 
to  this  resuh,  that  the  unyielding  nature  of  the  Romans  bent 
or  gradually  gave  way  before  the  power  of  the  higher  for- 
eign culture.  The  opposition  of  the  conservative  element 
(like  that  of  the  elder  Cato)  against  innovations,  and  the 
repeated  banishment  of  Greek  philosophers  and  orators 
from  Rome,  was  no  longer  of  any  avail.' 

This  process  of  development  brought  with  it,  however, 
this  result,  that  only  the  aristocracy,  on  the  one  hand,  were 
caught  and  permeated  by  this  incoming  stream  of  culture, 
while,  on  the  other  hand,  those  literary  workers  who  kept  to 
the  national  track  could  no  longer  maintain  their  place  on  a 
level  with  the  culture  of  the  time,  and  lost  their  attractive- 
ness for  the  more  refined  circles.  Ennius,  as  an  apostle 
of  Greek  culture,  exerted  a  revolutionizing  influence,  not 
only  on  the  form  of  literature,  but  also  on  the  language 
itself.-  The  hexameter,  which  he  introduced,  since  it  fixed 
the  quantity,  compelled  the  giving  up  of  the  prevalent  laxity 
and  variety  of  the  Saturnian  verse  and  the  scenic  metre 
as  to  quantity,  position,  and  the  like,  and  aided  much  in 
forming  the  literary  language. 

In  poetry  the  drama,  and  especially  comedy,  still  occu- 
pied the  foreground,  but  with  a  prevailing  tendencv  to 
follow  Greek  models  ;  ^  by  its  side  stood  the  epos,  repre- 
sented especially  by  Ennius. 

1  Cf.  Hor.  Epp.  ii.  i,  156,  seq. :  — 

Grsecia  capta  ferum  victorem  cepit  et  artes 
Intulit  agresti  Latio. 

T.  i.  106;   C.  91,  134;   M.  ii.  563. 

2  C.  71 ;  T.  i.  log,  133.  3  -p.  i.  16 ;  Mom.  ii.  503. 


r6  ROMAN    LITERATURE. 

In  the  field  of  prose  we  find  beginnings  of  oratory,  his- 
tory, and  legal  writings,  which  are,  in  part,  very  respectable  ; 
nevertheless,  in  spite  of  the  great  advance  made  by  the 
Romans  in  this  period,  everything  still  bore  an  archaic 
stamp,  for  which  the  later,  classical  period  had  little  taste 
and  understanding,'  and  which  did  not  again  find  a  lively 
appreciation  until  the  second  century,  a.d. 

Of  the  poets  of  this  archaic  period  only  the  patriarch  of 
poetry,  Ennius,  enjoyed  the  honor  of  such  men  as  Cicero. 
In  point  of  time,  however,  Livius  Andronicus  stands  at 
the  head  of  this  period. 


I.    POETRY. 

a,  — The  Drama. 

Although  the  National  Popular  Comedy  still  con- 
tinued, yet  it  was  gradually  giving  way  before  the  Hellenistic 
drama.  The  Satura  and  the  Atellana  were  not,  indeed, 
suppressed,  but  they  were  only  attached  as  afterpieces  (^x- 
odia)  to  the  artistic  drama,  and,  to  that  end,  they,  also,  were 
composed  according  to  rules  of  art.-  This  was  done,  near 
the  close  of  this  period  (about  90  B.C.),  by  the  poets 
Novius  and  L.  Pomponius,  otherwise  not  known  to 
us.  It  lay,  however,  in  the  nature  of  these  farces  that  tliev 
should  preserve  a  popular  character,  calculated  to  excite 
general  merriment ;  that  they  should  be  rude,  and  even,  at 
times,  obscene,  as  well  as  retain  the  standing  figures  and 
certain  stereotyped  subjects.-^ 

1  Cf.  Hor.  Epp.  i.  I,  50,  ff.  2  c.  82;  T.  i.  5,  14. 

3  The  ridicule  of  certain  classes,  such  as  peasants,  fullers,  and  pimps; 
also,  in  connection  with  these,  mythological  subjects. 


SECOND    PERIOD.  I  7 

Far  more  important,  however,  became  the  Hellenistic 
Drama.  At  the  same  time,  it  may  be  noted  as  character- 
istic of  Rome  that,  in  spite  of  the  great  production  of  these 
plays,  and  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  women  were  admitted 
to  the  exhibitions,  where  the  attendance  was  free,  and  so, 
at  all  events,  not  small,  yet  a  permanent  and  conveniently- 
arranged  theatre,  such  as  was  first  built  by  Pompey,  56  B.C., 
did  not  exist  in  this  period.'  It  is  also  worthy  of  note 
that  the  actor's  profession  remained  in  disrepute,  and, 
moreover,  that  only  freed  men  and  sla\es  appeared  upon 
the  stage. 

The  artistic  drama,  like  the  other  varieties,  still  reckoned 
upon  the  taste  of  persons  in  general  less  cultivated,  and 
having  little  appreciation  for  serious  and  deep  subjects ; 
hence  comedy  occupied  decidedly  the  foreground,  and 
especially  the  fabula  palliata,-  i.e.,  the  comedy  com- 
posed after  Greek  models. 

This  style  of  poetry  found  its  prototypes  in  the  New  Attic 
Comedy  of  the  third  and  fourth  centuries,  B.C.,  the  chief 
representatives  of  which  were  Menander,  Philemon,  and 
Diphilos.  For  the  most  part,  a  love  story  forms  the  subject 
of  these  pieces,  and  the  characters  are  rather  stereotyped  : 
fathers,  sometimes  over-strict  and  avaricious,  sometimes  in- 
dulgent and  generous  ;  young  men,  some  light-minded  and 
some  discreet ;  parasites,  courtesans,  and  finally  slaves, 
tricky,  but  faithful  to  their  love-sick  young  masters,  and 
ready  to  serve  them  in  all  kinds  of  dirty  work.  The  ma- 
terials for  the  plays  are  taken  from  everyday  life  ;  they  are 
not  lofty  in  tone,  and  they  avoid  all  reference  to  politics ; 
hence  the  subject  was  always  a  general  one,  of  wide  appli- 


1  C.  41 ;  Mom.  ii.  500. 

2  C.  46;  M.  ii.  509;  T.  i.  19;  Schlegel :  Dramatic  Lit.  204. 


l8  ROMAN    LITERATURE. 

cation,  easily  understood,  and  suited  to  mimic  representa- 
tion,—  all  tlie  better  adapted  to  Rome,  since  the  government 
did  not  favor  political  allusions  on  the  stage. 

Although  the  scene  of  the  palliata  was  laid  on  Greek  soil, 
still  additions  of  a  local  character  are  not  wanting.  The 
technical  arrangements  are  entirely  Greek  ;  the  chorus  is 
wanting,  and  the  text  is  divided  into  dialogue  {di7'erdiiti>i) 
and  chants  {can/ica),  with  flute  accompaniment.  The 
metre  is,  for  the  most  part,  handled  with  skill,  but  not  yet 
fixed  in  form.  According  to  a  greater  or  less  vivacity  of 
movement  are  distinguished, yi;/^///^  viotoricB  (especially  in 
Plautus),  statoricc,  and  mixtcv. 

Not  unfrequently  one  Latin  play  is  put  together  from  two 
or  more  Greek  ones,  a  proceeding  which  was  called  contam- 
ination {contaminare)} 

The  following  are  the  chief  representatives  of  the  palliata  : 
Livius  Andronicus-  (about  284-204  b.c),  who  came 
at  an  early  age  to  Rome  as  a  prisoner  of  war,  was  set 
at  liberty  by  a  certain  Livius  (Salinator?),  and  became 
a  writer  of  comedies  and  tragedies,  as  well  as  of  epic 
poems  (see  p.  23).  He  was  also  an  actor.  —  Ennius  (see 
p.  24).  —  Cn.  Naevius^  (about  264-194),  a  native  of 
Campania.  He  was  punished  at  Rome  with  imprisonment 
and  banishment  for  his  plain-speaking  on  political  matters, 
and  died  at  Utica.  His  first  piece  was  produced  in  the 
year  225.  He  was  a  popular,  bold,  and  original  genius, 
and  his  consciousness  of  his  own  literary  importance  is  ex- 
pressed in  his  epitaph  composed  by  himself  in  Saturnian 


1  C.  53 ;  Wr.  9. 

2  C.  37  ;  T.  i.  Ill ;  Mom.  ii.  498  ;  S.  56  ;  Con.  i.  298. 
8  C.  38 ;  T.  i.  113 ;  Mom.  ii.  519 ;  S.  58  ;  Con.  i.  302. 


SECOND    PERIOD.  1 9 

Immortales  mortales  |  si  foret  fas  flere, 
Flerent  divte  Camence  |  Noeviiim  poetam 
Itaque  postquam  est  orci'no  |  traditiis  thesadro, 
Obliti  siint  Romai  |  loquier  lingua  latina. 

Far  more  important,  however,  is  T.  Maccius  Plautus, 

a  native  of  Sassina  in  Umbria.  He  was  of  liumble  birth, 
and  was  forced  by  poverty  to  become  a  common  laborer 
(factotum  to  bands  of  actors,  and  a  worker  in  mills),  and 
afterwards  a  play-writer  to  gain  his  support. ^  He  died 
in   184. 

His  plays  are,  without  exception,  palUaicE.  From  about 
130  which  have  been  ascribed  to  him,  the  learned  Varro 
selected  21  as  genuine.  These,  with  one  exception,  are 
extant.-  They  are  entitled  :  Amphitriio  (a  parody  on  a 
mythological  subject,  the  so-called  fabula  rJdnthonica)^ 
Asinaria  (comedy  of  the  ass),  Aiiliilaria  (comedy  of  the 
money-pot,  imitated  in  Moliere's  "I'Avare"),  Baccliides 
(treating  of  the  twin  sisters  Bacchis),  Captivi  (without  love- 
plot,  very  moral  in  tone,  and  declared  by  Lessing  to  be 
the  most  excellent  play  ever  put  upon  the  stage),  Ciir- 
ciiUo  (corn-worm,  name  of  the  parasite),  Casina  (proper 
name),  Cistcllaria  (little  chest:  half  the  play  extant), 
Epidicus  (proper  name),  Mostellaria  (ghost  comedy), 
Mencechtni  (proper  name,  imitated  by  Shakspeare  in  the 
"Comedy  of  Errors"),  Miles  Glorias  us  (the  braggart  sol- 
dier, imitated  by  A.  Gryphius  in  the  "  Horribilicribrifax  "), 
Mercator  (merchant),  Pseu dolus  (proper  name),  Famulus 
(remarkable  for  several  Punic  words),  Persa,  Rudens  (the 
cable),  Stichus  (proper  name  :  half  the  play  extant),  Tri- 
nummus  (the  treasure),  Truculentus  (the  grumbler). 


1  Cf.  Hor.  Epp.  ii.  i,  175.  ^  C.  46;  T.  i.  117. 

3  C.  44;  T.  i.  115. 


20  ROMAN    LITERATURE. 

The  best  plays  are,  perhaps,  Bacchides,  Captivi,  Aukilaria, 
Mensechmi,  Miles  Gloriosus.^ 

The  following  epitaph,  said  to  have  been  written  by  him- 
self, may  serve  to  characterize  Plautus  :  — 

Postquam  est  mortem  aptus  (adeptus)  Plautus,  comcedia  luget, 
Scsena  est  deserta  (ac)  deiu  risus  jocus  ludusque 
Et  numeri  innumeri  simul  omnes  collacrimarunt. 

Plautus  is  distinguished  by  a  popular,  ever-ready  wit 
adapted  to  a  rude  public,  by  genuine,  telling  humor,  by 
vivacity  of  dialogue  and  skill  in  handling  the  language  and 
metre.2  On  the  other  hand,  the  arrangement  and  complica- 
tion of  the  plot  is  not  always  satisfactory.  In  prosody, 
Plautus  forms  an  intermediate  grade  between  the  Saturnian 
verse  and  the  Greek  metres.  In  the  freer  treatment  of  the 
metre  is  seen  the  influence  of  the  popular  speech.^'  Plautus 
was  ranked  high  in  later  times,  especially  by  Cicero  and 
Varro.  He  was  less  acceptable  to  Horace. "^  Single  plays, 
particularly  the  Captivi,  were  long  read  in  the  schools,  and, 
in  the  earlier  times,  were  brought  out  on  the  stage. 

P.  Terentius,  born  at  Carthage  in  185,  was  somewhat 
younger  than  Plautus.  He  was  brought  as  a  slave  to  Rome, 
and  there  set  at  liberty.  The  fact  that  he  was  received  into 
the  society  of  Scipio  Africanus  and  C.  Laelius  gave  rise  to 
the  opinion  that  they  were  the  autliors  of  his  plays. ^  He 
died  at  the  early  age  of  twenty-six  (in  159),  while  on  a 
journey  in  Greece.  Of  the  works  of  Terence  we  have  six 
palliatiE,  mostly  imitated  from  Menander,  and  in  part  com- 


1  Other  critics  add  the  Trinummus  and  Rudens. 

2  C.  47;  T.  i.  125;  Mom.  ii.  523. 

8  Wagner's  Aulularia  of  Plautus:   Introduction. 

4  Cf.  Epp.  ii.  I,  170,  seqq.;  ii.  270,  seqq. 

6  C.  50;  Mom.  iii.  542;  Wagner's  Terence  :  Introd.  2;  Parry:  Introd.  xx. 


SECOND    PERIOD.  21 

binations  of  two  or  more  plays  :  Andria  (maid  of  Andros), 
Eunuchus  (the  Eunuch,  a  play  which  brought  8000  ses- 
terces), Heaiitontimorumenos  (the  self-tormentor), /%i7r;?i/^, 
Hecyra  (mother-in-law),  Adelphi  (the  brothers,  the  most 
successful  play  of  all). 

Terence  forms,  in  many  respects,  a  contrast  to  Plautus.^ 
In  Plautus  we  find  the  natural,  popular  tone,  in  Terence, 
the  colloquial  language  of  the  cultivated  circles  ;  in  Plautus, 
originality  and  inventive  faculty,  in  Terence,  dependence 
and  imitation  ;  in  Plautus,  sparkling  wit,  in  Terence,  re- 
flection and  study ;  in  Plautus,  nature,  in  Terence,  art ; 
in  Plautus,  roughness  and  boldness,  in  Terence,  smooth- 
ness and  moderation  ;  in  Plautus,  a  vivacity  often  farcical, 
but  always  telling,  in  Terence,  measured  calmness. 

In  general,  Terence  is  lacking  in  the  virtus  ac  vis  comica; 
he  excels  in  cultivated,  elegant  language,  dignity,  artistic 
arrangement,  and  correct  delineation  of  character.^  For  this 
reason  he  was  a  favorite  author  in  the  Middle  Ages.  He 
was  much  read  and  played,  especially  in  the  schools,  on 
account  c  ■"  his  moral  tone.^ 

Amon  the  remaining  composers  o{  pa  ilia  fee  were  Statius 
Caecili  ..s,''  an  Insubrian,  who  came  as  a  prisoner  of  war  to 
Rome,  and  appears  to  have  taken  a  position,  in  respect  to 
time  and  style  of  composition,  intermediate  between  Plautus 
and  Terence;  and  Luscius  Lavinius  (or  Lanuvinus),  a 
rival  and  enemv  of  Terence. 


1  Mom.  iii.  538;  Wagner,  8;  Parry,  xvii. 

2  C.  51 ;  T.  i.  146 ;  Parry,  xxiii.  On  the  metres  and  prosody  of  Terence, 
see  Parry,  xxvii.;  Wagner,  12;  and  on  the  relation  of  Terence  to  the  "New 
Comedy,"  Parry,  487. 

3  The  Eunuchus  was  translated  into  German  as  early  as  i486,  and  all 
the  plays  in  1499. 

*  C.  48  ;  T.  i.  135  ;  Mom.  ii.  523. 


22  ROMAN    LITERATURE. 

Before  the  much-fostered  palliata,  the  national  comedy, 
fabula  togata,!  retired  into  the  background.  This  had 
for  its  subject  the  daily  life  of  the  lower  classes,  espe- 
cially the  small  gossip  of  the  municipal  towns  ;  and  since 
Rome  and  its  citizens  could  not  be  brought  upon  the 
stage,  the  scene  was  customarily  laid  in  a  Latin  country 
town. 

Little  has  been  preserved  of  the  togata.  Its  chief  authors 
were  Titinius,  a  contemporary  of  Terence  ;  T.  Quinctius 
Atta,  who  died  in  77  ;  and  especially  L.  Afranius,  who 
wrote  somewhere  about  the  year  100. 

In  Tragedy,-  also,  the  Hellenistic  tendency  prevailed, 
but  the  greater  expense  of  production,  as  well  as  the  pub- 
lic taste,  which  sought  after  fun  and  entertainment,  caused 
tragedy  to  be  less  cultivated  than  comedy.  Moreover,  the 
Roman  tragic  writers  did  not  strike  the  right  tone,  in  that, 
with  them,  seriousness  and  pathos  too  often  degenerated 
into  heaviness  and  bombast.  Their  model  was,  for  the  most 
part,  Euripides. 

Beside  the  tragedy  based  upon  Greek  models,  the  Ro- 
man national  play,  fabula  praetexta,^  which  dealt  with 
historical  subjects,  could  attain  to  no  very  important  posi- 
tion. In  the  department  of  tragedy  are  to  be  mentioned ; 
Livius  Andronicus,  whose  plays  treated  of  mythological 
subjects,  taken  chiefly  from  the  legends  centering  about 
Troy;  Cn.  Naevius,  who  also  wxoit prcsfexfce ;  Q.  Ennius  ;"* 
especially,  however,  M.  Pacuvius  ^  and  L.  Accius,*^  (At- 


1  C.  55  ;  T.  i.  25  ;  Mom.  ii.  525. 

2  C.  56;  T.  i.  16;  Mom.  iii.  536;  S.  129;  Con.  i.  294. 

3  C.  38  ;  T.  i.  19. 

*   C.  58  ;  S.  89  ;  T.  i.  131 ;  Con.  i.  304. 

5  C.  62 ;  T.  i.  134 ;  S.  143  ;  Con.  i.  309. 

6  C.  65  ;  T.  i.  167  ;  Mom.  iii.  537  ;  S.  153  ;  Con.  i.  317. 


SECOND   PERIOD.  23 

tius).  The  former  was  born  at  Brundisium  about  220  B.C., 
and  died  at  Tarentuni  about  132.  He  was  brought  to  Rome 
by  his  uncle  Ennius,  and  was  a  painter  as  well  as  an  author. 
His  works  consist  of  twelve  tragedies  and  one  pnvtexta  enti- 
tled Paulus  (probably  referring  to  ^'Emilius  Paulus).  Accius 
lived  about  i  70-94,  and  was  author  of  about  forty  tragedies 
and  ^^vtxdX  prmtextie,  of  which,  for  example,  the  Decius  treats 
of  the  voluntary  death  of  the  younger  P.  Decius  Mus,  near 
Sentinum.  Cicero,  Horace,  and  others  give  Accius  high 
rank  as  gravis,  ingetiiosus,  altus  poeta.  He  also  wrote  Di- 
dascalica  (a  history  of  Greek  and  Roman  poetry),  Prag- 
matica  (treating  of  literary  history),  and  Amiaks. 

Of  all  these  tragedies  and  prgetextse  only  fragments  are 
extant. 

i&.  — The    Epos. 

The  Romans  could  not  possess  an  heroic  epos  of  their 
own,  like  the  Homeric,  because  the  needful  legendary 
material,  as  well  as  gods  and  heroes,  were  wanting.  Hence 
the  national  epic  writers  were  obliged  to  confine  themselves 
to  historical  subjects  instead  of  mythological. 

Livius  Andronicus,  indeed,  the  first  epic  writer  in 
point  of  time,  contented  himself  with  a  heavy  translation 
of  the  Odyssey^  in  the  Saturnian  metre,  which  was  in  later 
times  no  longer  readable,  though,  according  to  Horace,*  it 
was  used  by  Orbilius  as  a  school-book. 

The  following  epic  writers  turned  their  attention  resolutely 


1  The  first  verse  reads,  according  to  Gellius,  X.  A.  xviii.  9  :  — 

Viriim  mihi  Camena  |  insece  versutum. 

2  Epp.  ii.  I,  69,  seqq. 


24  ROMAN    LITERATURE. 

and  with  success  to  the  history  of  their  native  land.  Thus, 
in  the  first  place,  Cn.  Naevius,'  still,  however,  in  the 
Saturnian  metre,  treated  of  the  Fiist  Punic  War?  This 
work,  of  which  only  fragments  remain,  has  been  well  com- 
pared to  the  rhyme-chronicles  of  tlie  Middle  Ages. 

Nsevius  was  far  surpassed  by  Q.  Ennius.^  The  latter 
was  born,  239,  at  Rudiae  in  Ajnilia,  was  taken  to  Rome  by 
Cato  on  his  return  from  Sardinia,  found  there  an  apprecia- 
tive reception  in  aristocratic  circles  favorable  to  Hellenic  cul- 
ture, especially  from  Scipio  Africanus  the  Elder,  and  from  M. 
Fulvius  Nobilior,  obtained  Roman  citizenship,  and  died  169. 
His  chief  work  (besides  comedies,  tragedies,  and  saturce) 
was  the  Anna/es,  which  treated,  in  18  books,  of  the  history 
of  Rome  from  yEneas  to  his  own  times.  In  respect  to 
metre,  forms  of  speech,  inflections,  and  word-formations, 
this  work  marked  an  era  through  the  introduction  of  the 
hexameter  in  place  of  the  Saturnian  verse. "^  It  is  true,  the 
hexameter  of  Ennius  was  somewhat  awkward  ;  for  example, 

Gives  Romani  tunc  facti  sunt  Campani, 
or, 

Introducuntur  legati  Minturnenses  ; 
also  in  l>ad  taste,  as 

O  Tite,  tute,  Tati,  tibi  tanta  tyranne  tulistl, 
and  forced,  as  in  the  well-known  tmesis  : 

Cere  comminuit  brum. 

But  we  also  find  places  of  great  poetic  power  and  beauty  ;  ^ 

1  C.  39;  Mom.  ii.  540. 

2  According  to  Cicero,  Rrut.  19,  75,  luculente  sed  minus  polite. 

3  C.  68;  T.  i.  129;  Mom.  ii.  542;  S.  68  ;  Con-,  i.  329. 
*  C.  71;  S.  91,  107. 

6  See  Cic.  de  Div.  i.  20,  40,  seqq.  48,  107,  seq.  de  Off.  i.  12,  38. 


SECOND   PERIOD.  25 

for  Ennius  was  a  man  of  remarkable  talent ;  he  possessed  a 
lively  imagination,  warm  feeling,  and  a  great  faculty  for 
moulding  forms  and  language.'  His  work,  though  it  was 
long  looked  upon  by  the  Romans  as  their  greatest  national 
epic,  put  the  artistic,  Hellenic  epos  in  place  of  the  naive 
national  one.  Ennius  was  particularly  admired  by  Cicero. 
Quintilian  says  of  him,^  "  Ennium  sicut  sacros  vetustate 
lucos  adoremus,  in  quibus  grandia  et  antiqua  robora  jam 
non  tantam  habent  speciem  quantam  religionem." 

The  Satiira^  too,  acquired  a  new  meaning  through  En- 
nius, inasmuch  as  he  gave  this  name  to  a  collection  of 
miscellaneous  poems  of  a  didactic  nature,  written  in  different 
metres.  His  successor  in  this  department  was  C.  Lruci- 
lius,^  born  about  150  at  Suessa  Aurunca  in  Campania,  of 
equestrian  family.  He  was  a  friend  of  the  younger  Scipio 
Africanus,  and  died  103.  In  his  poems,  varied,  indeed,  in 
form  and  contents,  but  without  elegance  and  finish,  Lucilius 
subjected,  in  a  bold  and  witty  manner,  public  affairs  and 
personages  to  sharp  and  searching  criticism  ;  and  in  so 
doing,  he  gave  to  the  Satura  the  character  which  has  since 
been  associated  with  the  name  Satire  ;  to  wit,  that  of  an 
invective  poem.  In  this  respect  Horace  gave  it  its  com- 
plete form. 

II.  PROSE. 

Prose,  in  both  oral  and  written  form  as  necessity  or  pre- 
ference dictated,  was,  indeed,  employed  in  the  senate  and 
in  the  forum,  by  orators  and  jurists,  historians  and  profes- 


1  S.  no;  T.  i.  133. 

2  Inst.  Orat.  x.  i,  88. 

3  C.  7S;  T.  i.  32;  Mom.  ii.  539;  S.  159. 
*  T.  i.  171 ;  Mom.  iii.  551 ;  S.  168. 


26  ROMAN    LITERATURE. 

sional  men,  but  it  had  not  been  brought  to  any  high  perfec- 
tion of  style.  1  For  this  reason,  the  prose  writers  beibre 
Cicero,  whose  continuous  succession  began  with  Cato,  and 
of  whom  our  knowledge  is  very  incomplete  on  account  of 
the  relatively  small  range  of  what  has  come  down  to  us, 
were,  with  few  exceptions,  even  in  Cicero's  time,  regarded 
as  rough,  antiquated,  and  scarcely  readable.  To  this  archaic 
prose,  German  prose  before  the  Reformation  presents  an 
analogy. 

a.  — History. 

For  a  long  time  historical  composition  was  mere  annal- 
writing,  a  dry,  chronological  recording  of  the  events  of  the 
year,-  —  a  plane  of  literature  which  corresponds  in  some 
degree  to  the  chronicle-writing  of  the  Greeks  before  Herod- 
otus. These  annals  were,  for  the  most  part,  written  by  men 
active  in  politics,  or,  at  least,  interested  in  them.  The  older 
chronicles,  down  to  the  time  of  the  Gracchi,  though  by  no 
means  entirely  accurate,  were  yet,  on  account  of  their  naive 
simplicity,  more  trustworthy  than  the  later  ones,  which, 
although  or  because  gradually  more  attention  was  paid  to 
form  and  critical  treatment,  displayed  a  more  conscious 
distortion  of  history  in  the  interest  of  the  state  and  of  par- 
ticular families  and  persons,  and  betrayed  the  prominence 
of  party  considerations.  Some  of  these  annals  were,  to  ali 
intents  and  purposes,  autobiographies. 

The  earlier  annalists  wrote  in  Greek,  doubtless  on  account 
of  the  clumsiness  of  the  Latin  language.  Thus  Q.  Fabius 
Pictor,''  the  same  that  was  sent  to  consult  the  Delphic  ora- 
cle in  216,  wrote,  after  the  Second  Punic  War,  a  History  of 

1  Mom.  ii.  544;  T.  i.  40;  C.  87.  ^  C.  89;  T.  i.  149. 

8  T.  i.  43  ;  Mom.  ii.  550 ;  S.  192. 


SECOND    PERIOD.  27 

Rome  from  ^neas  to  his  own  time,  of  which  much  use  was 
made  by  later  historians,  especially  by  Livy.  It  is  uncertain 
whether  the  Latin  annals  which  bore  his  name  were  a  sepa- 
rate production,  or  a  re-shaping  of  his  Greek  work  by  himself 
or  some  one  else.  Other  writers  in  Greek  were,  L.  Cin- 
cius  Alimentus,  a  younger  contemporary  of  Fabius,  and, 
somewhat  later,  C.  Acilius  Glabrio  and  A.  Postumius 
Albinus. 

The  first  to  write  in  Latin,  and  the  one  who  thus  became 
the  real  founder  of  Latin  prose  literature,  was  M.  Porcius 
Cato,'  born  at  Tusculum  234.  He  was  consul  in  195, 
censor  (hence  called  Censorius)  184,  died  149.  He  was 
the  last  genuine  type  of  the  old  Roman  character,  yet  in 
connection  with  his  laborious  political  and  military  activity, 
he  was  not  only  a  copious  and  many-sided  writer,  the  first 
prose  author  that  could  be  read  in  later  times,-  but,  also, 
—  and  nothing  gives  a  more  striking  proof  of  the  irre- 
sistibility of  Greek  culture, —  in  spite  of  his  anti-Hellenic 
prejudices,  he  condescended  in  extreme  old  age  to  master 
Greek. 

He  wrote  a  historical  work  in  7  books,  which  he  entitled 
Origities  (Beginnings)  because  the  first  three  books  con- 
tained an  account  of  the  rise  and  growth  of  Rome  under 
the  kings,  as  well  as  of  the  origin  of  the  Italian  cities,  prob- 
ably in  connection  with  their  subjection  to  the  Roman 
dominion.  Book  IV  contained  the  First,  Book  V,  the 
Second  Punic  War,  Books  VI  and  VII,  the  later  wars 
down  to  149. 

The  narrative,  though  enlivened  by  geographical  and 
mythological  notes  and  curiosities,  was  still  uneven  and 
crude,  and  perhaps,  also,  not  impartial  to  the  nobility.     I'he 

1  T.  i.  153 ;  C.  91 ,  Mom.  ii.  546.  2  cic.  Brut.  18,  69. 


28  ROMAN   LITERATURE. 

introduction  of  speeches,  especially  those  delivered  by  the 
writer  himself,  was  an  innovation.  As  authorities,  the  old 
Roman  legends  and  traditions  were  used ;  also  his  own 
experiences,  and  probably  Italian  municipal  records.  The 
work  was  highly  valued  by  later  writers ;  Cicero  ^  styles  Cato 
gravissimus  aiicfor.  Only  a  few  fragments  of  the  work  are 
extant.  —  Cato  also  prepared  a  collection  of  witty  sayings 
(d7ro<^^ey/xaTa)  ;  those  of  his  own  which  were  particularly 
apt  and  pungent  were  collected  afterwards. 

Concerning  Cato  as  an  orator,  see  p.  30 ;  as  an  agricul- 
turist, see  p.  T,T^. 

To  the  earlier  annalists,  who,  in  the  old,  established  way, 
treated  in  archaic  language  of  tradition  and  history  from 
^neas  to  their  own  time,  belonged  Cassius  Hemina, 
a  contemporary  of  Cato,  L.  Calpurnius  Piso  Frugi, 
Censor  120,  and  C.  Sempronius  Tuditanus.  The  list 
of  younger  annalists  began  with  L.  Caelius  Antipater,- 
who,  about  120,  wrote  a  History  of  the  Second  Pu7iic 
War,  with  somewhat  more  attention  to  style  and  rhetorical 
form. 

Among  writers  of  autobiograpJiies  or  contemporary  his- 
tories, may  be  mentioned,  P.  Rutilius  Rufus,  who  was 
consul  in  105,  was  banished  as  an  aristocrat,  and  died  about 
77  in  Asia,  —  a  man  of  the  noblest  character  and  well  edu- 
cated in  philosophy  and  law;  Q.  Lutatius  Catulus,  who 
was  consul  in  102,  and  died  in  87  ;  Sempronius  Asel- 
lio,  who  aimed  at  objective  treatment,  and  wrote  with 
special  reference  to  the  internal  relations  of  the  state  ;  L. 
Cornelius  Sulla,  the  dictator,  who  wrote  memoirs  from  a 
one-sided,  personal,  and  party  standpoint ;  L.  Cornelius 


1  Tusc.  iv.  2,  3. 

2  C  100 ;  T.  190 ;  Mom.  iii.  562. 


SECOND  PERIOD.  29 

Sisenna^  (119-67),  who  wrote  a  History  of  the  Marsian 
War  and  that  of  Sulla,  and  who,  in  spite  of  his  artificial, 
antiquated  style,  was  preferred  by  Cicero  to  all  earlier 
annalists. 

On  the  other  hand,  7no7-e  cojnprehensive  works,  reaching 
down  to  their  own  times,  were  written  by  contemporaries  of 
Sulla:  Claudius  Quadrigarius,  who  wrote  at  least  23 
books,  beginning  with  the  Gallic  conflagration  ;  Valerius 
Antias,  who  began  with  the  earliest  times,  and  is  notorious 
for  his  exaggerations,  especially  in  numbers,  which  were  only 
gradually  recognized  as  such  by  Livy,  who  cited  him  often. 
Hence  he  exerted  an  injurious  influence  upon  the  trust- 
worthiness of  later  writers.  C.  Licinius  Macer  (died 
in  66),  likewise  beginning  from  the  earhest  times,  wrote 
from  a  democratic  standpoint,  and  distinguished  himself 
by  industrious  use  of  the  old  records.  He  was  much  used 
by  Livy. 

Z).  — Oratory. 

The  natural  talents  and  character  of  the  Romans,  their 
practical  nature,  their  bent  toward  precision,  pathos,  and 
effect,  were  all  favorable  to  oratory.  Especially  the  open 
and  free  character  of  their  political  life  early  led  to  the 
frequent  employment  of  oratory.-  A  certain  degree  of  ora- 
torical readiness  was  indispensable  to  every  one  that  de- 
sired to  make  himself  popular  and  to  advance  in  the 
political  career.  Hence,  even  before  the  more  intimate 
acquaintance  with  the  Greeks,  oratory  was  esteemed  and 
cultivated ;  for  a  long  time,  it  is  true,  without  art  and 
method,  although  instruction  and  practice  in  oratory  went 

1  T.  i.  213  :  Mom.  iv.  715.  2  f.  i.  52 ;  C.  105  ;  S.  190. 


30  ROMAN   LITERATURE. 

with  the  Roman  from  youth  through  his  entire  pubhc  hfe.' 
Only  through  the  influence  of  Greek  rhetoric  did  Roman 
oratory  acquire  form,  system,  and  artistic  treatment,  both  in 
theory  and  practice. 

But  seldom  or  never  could  an  orator  unite  in  himself  ah 
the  qualities  which  Cicero-  requires,  —  a  broad  culture, 
especially  in  philosophy,  knowledge  of  law  and  history,  the 
power  to  change  from  grave  to  gay  speech,  the  ability  to  be 
at  one  time  abstract  and  at  another  concrete,  and,  according 
to  necessity  or  pleasure,  to  convince  and  charm  the  hearers, 
and  put  them  into  any  mood. 

Those  orators  who  marked  epochs  in  the  history  of 
oratory  were,  according  to  Cicero  (Brut.)  :  M.  Porcius 
Cato,-^  the  first  (after  App.  Claudius  Csecus)  to  commit 
his  orations  (over  150  in  number)  to  writing.  His  char- 
acter as  an  orator  is  set  forth  by  such  expressions  as : 
Orator  vir  bonus  est  dicendi  peritus  ;  Rem  tene,  verba  se- 
quentur ;  S.  Sulpicius  Galba,  consul  in  144,  who,  under 
Greek  influence,  made  use  of  rhetorical  adornment ;  C. 
Gracchus,'*  who,  though  not  a  man  of  thorough  culture, 
was  yet  as  eloquent  as  he  was  rich  in  thought ;  the  two 
orators,  M.  Antonius,  consul  in  99,  and  L.  Crassus,^ 
consul  in  95,  of  whom  the  former  was  remarkable  rather 
for  natural  gifts,  memory,  imagination,  and  vivacity  of  ac- 
tion ;  the  latter  for  a  finer  culture,  legal  knowledge,  choice 
language,  and  wit. 

The  transition  to  the  perfection  of  Roman  oratory  in 
Cicero  is  formed  by  Q.  Hortensius''  (114-50),  the  repre- 
sentative of  the  gi'Hus  Asiaticum,  which,  in  contrast  to  the 


1  Mom.  ii.  553 ;  iii.  529.  *  Mom.iii.  563;  C.  114;  T.  i.  185 

2  Brut.  93,  322.  6  C.  118;  T.  i.  204. 
8  C.  109;  T.  i.  154.  6  C.  124;  T.  i.  251. 


SECOND   PERIOD.  3 1 

simplicity  of  the  genus  Atticum,  was  marked  by  a  florid,  and 
often  overloaded  style. 

Of  the  works  of  all  these  orators  only  a  few  fragments  are 
extant.  We  possess  a  hand-book  of  Rhetoric,  in  4  books, 
entitled  Rheforica  ad  Herennium}  which  was  compiled  for 
practical  purposes,  from  Greek  sources,  but  from  an  inde- 
pendent Roman  standpoint.  It  was  written  about  80  B.C., 
probably  by  a  certain  Cornificius,  at  all  events,  not  by 
Cicero. 

c  — Special   Sciences. 

Among  these,  Jurisprudence  ^  stands  at  the  head,  for 
which,  as  well  as  for  oratory,  the  Romans  were  especially 
fitted.  Roman  law  developed  itself  in  a  normal  manner, 
with  a  national  character  and  independence.  The  syste- 
matic development  of  criminal  and  especially  civil  law  kept 
pace  with  the  mainly  consistent  development  of  the  Roman 
constitution.  After  the  legal  code  had  become  generally 
known  through  the  lus  Flavianum  (see  p.  13),  there  soon 
appeared  a  succession  of  learned  men,  who,  by  collecting 
and  publishing  explanations,  legal  opinions,  judgments,  rul- 
ings, and  the  like,  founded  the  science  of  law  with  a  success 
and  influence  all  the  greater  from  the  fact  that  legal  knowl- 
edge was  absolutely  necessary  for  the  political  career. 
Gradually  there  was  formed  a  legal  tradition,  which  was 
cherished  in  single  families,  as  especially  among  the  Mucii, 
Aelii,  and  Sulpicii,  and  which  was  passed  down  like  an  in- 
heritance, as  it  were,  from  father  to  son. 

S.  iElius  Paetus,^  consul  in  198,  was  the  author  of  the 
first  law-book,  under  the  title  Tripartita,  an  interpretation  of 

1  C.  132;  T.  i.  222;  Mom.  iii.  565.  3  x.  i.  163;  Mom.  ii.  555. 

2  T.  i.  61,  208 ;  C.  129. 


32  ROMAN    LITERATURE. 

the  Laws  of  the  Twelve  Tables,  later  called  the  ius  ^lianum, 
and  regarded  as  the  cradle  of  Roman  law.  Also,  Cato  and 
his  son  Marcus  wrote  legal  works. 

From  the  family  of  the  Mucii  came  the  celebrated  jurists 
and  authors,  P.  Mucius  Scaevola,i  consul  in  133,  and 
afterwards  pontifex  maximus,  and  his  still  more  famous 
son,  Q.  Mucius  Scaevola,  consul  in  95,  who  also  be- 
came pontifex  maximus,  and  was  murdered  in  82.  The 
latter  was  the  first  to  lay  down  a  uniform  and  well-arranged 
system,  and,  by  this  means,  as  well  as  by  training  a  large 
number  of  pupils,  he  exercised  a  great  influence  upon  the 
following  period. 

Archaeology  2  busied  itself  partly  with  hnguistic  matters, 
and  partly  with  antiquities  in  general.  In  the  former  case, 
it  had  to  do  with  fixing  the  written  language,  with  etymology 
and  the  interpretation  of  words ;  in  the  latter,  with  the 
explanation  of  the  antiquities  referred  to  in  the  earlier 
literary  productions.  Grammatical  studies  received  a  power- 
ful impulse  from  the  Greek  Crates  of  Mallos,  who  taught 
in  Rome  159  B.C.  Antiquarian  studies,  particularly  those 
pertaining  to  language,  gradually  became  the  fashion,  and 
were  pursued  with  zeal ;  especially  since  the  Latin  language 
was  brought  into  close  connection  with  the  Greek.  The 
real  founder  of  these  studies  in  language  and  antiquities,  and 
the  first  Roman  philologist,  was  L.  iElius  Stilo,^  born  at 
Lanuvium  about  150,  the  most  learned  man  of  his  time, 
teacher  of  Varro  and  Cicero.  He  interpreted  the  oldest 
literary  remains,  such  as  the  song  of  the  Salii,  the  Twelve 
Tables,  and  the  early  poets. 


1  C.  131 ;  Mom.  iii.  566-568  ;  H.  62. 

2  T.  i.  50;  M.  ii.552. 

'  T.  i.  200 ;  C.  133 ;  Mom.  iii.  564. 


SECOND    PERIOD.  T,^ 

In  Domestic  Economy  and  Agriculture,  Cato  wrote 
a  complete  hand-book,  entitled  ^fe  re  rustic  a}  which  is  still 
extant ;  also  a  work  on  the  same  subject  by  the  Carthaginian 
Mago  was  translated  into  Latin  by  order  of  the  senate,  after 
the  conquest  of  Carthage. 

Other  sciences,  such  as  Geography,  Mathematics,  and  As- 
tronomy, were  not  treated  m  a  literary  way  in  this  period, 
although  many  Romans  were  not  without  a  knowledge  of 
them.  It  was  not  until  the  time  of  the  Emperors  that  mili- 
tary science  found  systematic  treatment. 

1  T.  i.  159;  C.95- 


THIRD    PERIOD. 

The  Golden  Age  of  Roman  Liter.4ture,  70  B.C.-14  a.d. 

THE  most  flourishing  period  of  Roman  literature  is 
characterized  and  measured  by  the  positive  predomi- 
nance of  the  Greek  mind.  The  atunis  abundantissimus 
Grcecaruin  disciplinarutn  et  artiufn  ^  showed  at  this  time  its 
fructifying  power  in  all  directions.^  An  acquaintance  with 
Greek  works  in  art  and  science,  with  their  home  and  places 
of  nurture,  especially  with  Athens,  became  more  and  more 
a  necessity,  or,  at  least,  the  fashion,  for  Romans  in  good 
society,  who  generally  spoke  and  wrote  Greek  with  ease, 
and  were  wont  to  pursue  their  studies  in  Athens,  Rhodes, 
and  other  parts  of  Greece. 

On  the  other  hand,  a  great  number  of  Greeks  made  their 
appearance  in  Rome,  and  were  employed  as  teachers  of 
rhetoric,  tutors,  readers,  and  the  like.  It  is  true  they  were 
often  held  in  light  esteem  (Graeculi)  on  account  of  their 
windy  and  bombastic  style  of  talk,  yet  they  were  indispen- 
sable. For,  with  all  the  apparent  prudery  towards  everything 
Greek,  which  was  manifested  even  by  men  like  Cicero,  with 
all  their  boasting  of  the  superiority  of  the  Roman  mind  and 
nature,  there  yet  prevailed  an  utter  dependence  in  everything 
pertaining  to  artistic  form.  Greek  writings,  especially  ora- 
tions, were  translated  as  exercises  in  the  schools  and  else- 
where.     By   means   of   the   increasing   book-trade,    Greek 

1  Cic.  de  Rep.  ii.  19,  34. 

2  T.  i.  227  et  seqq. ;  C.  141 ;  Mom.  iv.  681 ;  Mer.  ii.  530. 

34 


THIRD    PERIOD.  35 

authors  received  a  quicker  and  more  general  distribu- 
tion. Public  libraries  were  founded  by  Asinius  Pollio  and 
Augustus.  Hence  arose  a  lively,  and,  indeed,  irresistible 
impulse  to  literary  activity.  The  otimn,  devoted  to  the 
Muses,  gained  its  rightful  place  beside  the  negoiium,  in 
the  service  of  the  state.  On  a  lower  plane,  beside  this 
Hellenistic  tendency,  was  the  national  literature,  represented 
by  only  a  few,  as  Lucretius  and  Varro.  It  was,  howe\-er,  by 
no  means  independent  of  Greece. 

Within  this  unity  of  character,  however,  there  was  mani- 
fest, both  in  politics  and  in  literature,  a  wide  difference 
between  the  first  and  the  second  half  of  this  period,  between 
the  Ciceronian  and  the  Augustan  Age,  the  last  stage  of  the 
Republic,  and  the  beginning  of  the  Empire. i  On  the  one 
hand,  extreme  activity  in  political  life ;  on  the  other,  a 
systematic  quieting  and  suppression  of  the  same  ;  there, 
freedom  even  to  Hcense  ;  here,  limitation  and  restraint,  —  a 
shaping  of  thought  and  word  with  an  eye  to  court  favor  j 
there,  an  almost  exclusive  bent  toward  public  life  ;  here,  an 
accommodation  to  the  will  and  taste  of  the  court  and  the 
emperor ;  there,  the  studies  which  have  to  do  with  political 
life  —  oratory  and  political  literature  —  prevailed  ;  here,  those 
departments  (particularly  poetry)  in  which  tlie  peaceful  de- 
velopment of  artistic  form,  that  is,  the  aesthetic  principle  is 
prominent ;  there,  practical  results  and  material  success  were 
kept  in  view  ;  here,  perfection  of  form  and  the  satisfaction  of 
the  aesthetic  sense  were  all  important.  Thus  each  half  of 
the  Golden  Age  serv^es  to  supplement  the  other ;  what  the 
one  has  in  a  greater  degree  appears  less  prominently  in  the 
other,  —  the  excellence  of  the  one  is  the  lack  of  the  other. 
Under  the   circumstances,  however,  it  was  inevitable   that, 

1  T.  i.  384. 


36  ROMAN    LITERATURE. 

with  the  empire,  while  taste,  elegance,  and  perfection  of  form 
increased,  independence,  freshness,  and  energy  should  de- 
crease. Literature,  especially  poetry,  withdrew  from  public 
life,  from  the  market-place,  and  from  contact  with  the  masses 
of  the  people,  into  the  study,  the  salon,  and  to  the  court. 
Its  popularity  was  lost  in  the  aristocratic  exclusiveness  of 
fine  culture. 

In  the  Ciceronian  Age  (80-40  B.C.),  oratory  held  the 
first  place  in  importance. ^  It  was  then  that  it  found  its 
widest  sphere  of  action,  its  most  abundant  success,  and 
reached  in  Cicero  its  highest  development.  Hand  in  hand 
with  it  went  the  theoretical  development,  rhetoric,  which 
was,  for  the  most  part,  in  the  hands  of  the  Greeks.  Histor- 
ical writing  also  flourished,  but  its  most  important  represen- 
tatives, Caesar  and  Sallust,  wrote  from  a  political,  or  rather 
personal,  standpoint.^  Philosophy  had  its  chief  representative 
in  Cicero,  learning,  in  Varro.  In  this  stormy  period,  poetry 
found  few  prominent  representatives,  —  the  didactic  epos, 
Lucretius,  lyric  poetry,  Catullus.^  The  drama  passed  into 
the  mime.  Cicero  is  to  be  regarded  as  the  central  point  of 
the  literary  life  of  this  period,  the  creator  of  the  normal 
prose  style.'' 

After  the  establishment  of  the  Empire,  political  activity 
came  to  a  standstill,  nay,  even  to  a  state  of  torpor.  Regard 
for  the  monarch  made  caution  and  diplomatic  behavior 
necessary ;  the  voice  of  political  literature  ceased  to  be 
heard  ;  the  principle  of  equalization  and  levelling,  not  only 
of  the  parts  of  the  Empire,  but  also  of  minds,  crippled  and 
suppressed  individual  peculiarity  and  independence  of  char- 
acter.     Oratory  and   history,  which   flourished   under   the 

1  T.  i.  229;  Mer.  ii.  536;  Mom.  iv.  723. 

2  Mom.  iv.  719.  ^  T.  i.  232. 
*  T.  i.  235  ;  Mom.  iv.  677 ;  Schlegel :  Hist,  of  Lit.  77. 


THIRD    PERIOD.  37 

Republic,  were  now  treated  in  a  manner  suited  to  the  cir- 
cumstances.^ The  former  retired  from  the  forum,  partly  into 
the  Senate  and  the  courts,  and  partly  into  the  schools  ;  the 
latter  turned  its  attention  chiefly  to  the  older  periods.  In 
their  place,  the  professions,  as  being  politically  safe  and 
possessing  practical  value,  took  a  broader  field.  Poetry 
increased  in  importance,  being  favored  at  court  by  Augustus, 
Maecenas,  and  others,  but  it  was  confined  to  the  narrower, 
educated  circles.-  It  was  —  and,  indeed,  consciously  and 
purposely  —  no  longer  popular,  but  courtly  in  tone  and 
correct  in  sentiment,  often  more  remarkable  for  the  form 
than  the  contents.  By  many,  poetry  was  written  according 
to  technical  models,  mechanically,  and  because  it  was  the 
fashion.  Machine  poetry  {invita  Minerva)  came  into  vogue, 
furthered  by  the  public  recitations  introduced  by  Asinius 
Pollio. 

In  respect  to  particular  departments,  lyric  poetry  (Horace, 
Ovid,  Tibullus,  Propertius)  and  epic  (Virgil)  were  promi- 
nent; also,  didactic  (Virgil,  Ovid)  and  satiric  (Horace)  ; 
the  drama  remained  unimportant  from  a  literary  point  of 
view.  On  the  whole,  an  extremely  active  production  showed 
itself;  but,  in  the  case  of  the  majority,  on  account  of  the 
lack  of  individual  poetic  impulse,  originality,  and  inward 
truth,  poetry  was  only  a  thing  of  fashion,  based  on  ostenta- 
tion. 

The  more  distant  parts  of  Italy,  and  even  single  provinces, 
became  more  and  more  possessed  with  this  literary  move- 
ment, particularly  through  the  development  of  the  book- 
trade,  which  was  furthered  especially  by  T.  Pomponius 
Atticus.3     All  the  famous  writers  of  the  first  rank  in  the 


1  T.  i.  385 ;  Mer.  iv.  563 ;  C.  246. 

2  T.  i.  387 ;  C.  242 ;  Schlegel :  Hist,  of  Lit.  71 ;  Sellar  :  Roman  poets  of 
the  Augustan  Age.  ^  T.  i.  234. 

407238 


38  ROMAN    LITERATURE. 

Augustan  Age  were  not  native  Romans,  but  originated  from 
Italian  country  towns.  Yet,  at  least  in  prose,  the  specific 
Roman  urbanitas  stood  more  or  less  positively  and  con- 
sciously in  contrast  with  the  provincial  tone. 


I.    POETRY. 

a.— The  Drama. 

The  Artistic  Drama  in  its  different  varieties  —  palliata, 
togata,  praetexta  —  found  few  new  writers,  i  The  new  plays, 
such  as  the  tragedies  of  Asinius  Pollio,  Ovid,  and  Varius, 
were  designed  for  the  more  limited  circles,  and  for  reading, 
and  hence  the  public  presentations  were  confined  to  the 
older  plays.  In  Comedy,  Roscius  shone  as  an  excellent 
actor ;  in  Tragedy,  ^sop.^  After  the  time  of  Sulla,  however, 
both  the  artistic  and  the  popular  play  were  more  and  more 
crowded  back  by  the  Mime  and  the  Pantomine. 

The  Mime  "^  was  old  Italian,  nearly  related  to  the  Atella- 
na,  and  mainly  distinguished  from  it  by  the  even  greater 
prominence  given  to  gesticulation.'*  The  Mime  was  marked 
by  caricature  in  the  farcical  action,  and  in  the  often  im- 
provised dialogue,  seasoned  with  personal  allusions ;  by  the 
forced  striving  to  excite  laughter ;  by  an  obscenity  carried 
t©  the  very  extreme,  the  female  parts  being  played  by 
women.  The  subjects  were  taken  mostly  from  every-day 
life,  particularly  from  married  life,  and  occasionally  from 
mythology.  The  play  was  principally  in  the  hands  of  one 
actor,  called  the  archimimus,  and  the  other  players  (such 

1  Mom.  iv.  689.  2  c.  212. 

8  u;/yof ,  a  term  used  to  denote  both  the  play  and  the  actor ;  in  Latin 
also  called  planipes. 
4  C.  ao8 ;  T.  i.  8. 


THIRD    PERIOD.  39 

as  the  parasite)  were  subordinate  to  him.  The  language  was 
common  plebeian,  and  the  flute  served  as  accompaniment 
in  the  song  and  dance. 

Among  the  writers  of  Mimes  were  the  Roman  knight 
Decimus  Laberius  (105-43  b.c),  who  was  compelled 
by  Caesar  to  appear  publicly  on  the  stage  as  a  punishment 
for  his  boldness  ;  and  his  younger  contemporary,  the  senten- 
tious Publilius  Syrus,  of  Antiochia.'  These  writers  in- 
troduced the  Mime  into  literature. 

In  the  time  of  the  Emperors,  the  Mime  was  displaced  by 
the  Pantomime  (Ballet),  which,  under  Augustus,  was  devel- 
oped into  a  special  art  by  Bathyllus  and  Pylades.^ 
The  subject  of  the  Pantomime  was  almost  always  mytholog- 
ical, and,  indeed,  for  the  most  part  tragical.  The  play  itself 
consisted  of  a  union  of  solo  dancing,  chorus  singing,  and 
loud  orchestral  music.  It  was  the  task  of  the  dancer  to 
supply  the  lack  of  a  text  by  mute  action.  The  Pantomime, 
therefore,  demanded  and  produced,  on  the  one  hand,  the 
highest  gracefulness  and  smoothness,  elasticity  and  litheness 
of  movement,  —  in  truth  a  "  speaking  dance"  (diserte  sal- 
tare)  ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  it  led  to  a  one-sided  predom- 
inance of  sensuous  attractions,  and,  like  the  modern  ballet, 
from  an  aesthetic  and  moral  point  of  view,  had  a  corrupting 
effect. 

Z).  — The  Epos. 

Far  richer  and  more  fruitful  was  the  cultivation  which  the 
Narratixe  and  the  Didactic  Epos  found,  as  well  as  the  nearly 
related  varieties,  the  Poetic  Narrative,  the  Satire,  the  Poetic 
Epistle,  and  the  Idyll.  The  Narrative  Epos  was  further  divi- 
ded into  the  Historic,  whose  subjects  were  taken  from  Roman 

1  C.  210;  T.  i.  310;   Mom.  iv.  692.  ^  C.  211. 


40  ROMAN   LITERATURE. 

history,  and  the  Heroic,  which  had  to  do  with  mythological 
subjects,  and  which  rested  entirely  upon  Greek  models, 
especially  Alexandrian.  Virgil's  ^neid  was  a  combination 
of  both  kinds. 

The  chief  representatives  of  Didactic  Poetry  were  Lucre- 
tius, Virgil,  and  Ovid  ;  of  the  Satire,  Varro  and  Horace ;  of 
the  Poetic  Epistle,  Horace  and  Ovid ;  of  the  Idyll,  Virgil, 
md,  in  single  poems,  Horace. 

Prominent  among  the  numerous  epic  writers  are  Cicero,^ 
with  his  unfortunate  epic  poems,  written  for  his  own  glorifi- 
cation, (/e  suo  consulatu,  composed  in  the  year  60  B.C., 
and  de  temporibus  meis  (concerning  my  misfortunes), 
written  in  55  ;  P.  Terentius  Varro-  from  Atax  (Ata- 
cinus)  in  Gallia  Narbonensis  (82-37  b.c),  who  both 
worked  over  Greek  originals  with  skill,  as,  for  example,  the 
Argonautica  of  ApoUonius  Rhodius,  and  wrote  a  poem  en- 
titled bellum  Sequanicum,  probably  in  honor  of  Caesar ; 
also,  satires  and  elegies;  L.  Varius,  the  well-known  friend 
of  Virgil,  and  writer  of  epic  poems  in  honor  of  Ccesar 
{de  morte  Ccesaris)  and  Augustus ;  Pedo  Albinovanus, 
author  of  a  Theseis,  and  an  epos  concerning  the  occurrences 
of  his  times ;  Rabirius,  author  of  a  poem  concerning  the 
civil  war  between  Octavian  and  Antony. 

In  Didactic  Epos,  the  most  prominent  writer  was  T. 
Lucretius  Carus,^  a  Roman  knight,  who  lived  98  (95?)- 
55  B.C.  He  was  the  author  of  an  unfinished  didactic  poem, 
in  6  books,  entitled,  de  rerum  natura.  It  was  the  object  of 
the  poet  to  free  the  mind  from  the  burden  of  the  fear  of 
the  gods  and  of  death,   and,   in  general,  from  the  varied 


1  C.  184,  213;  T.  i.  305.  2  c.  231 :  T.  i.  362. 

8  C.  220 ;  T.  i.  338  ;  S.  199;  Mom. iv.  694 ;  Munro's  Lucretius  ;  SchlegeL* 
Hist,  of  Lit.  66. 


THIRD   PERIOD.  4' 

forms  of  superstition  I  by  a  rational  contemplation  of  nature.^ 
The  Epicurean  philosophy  served  him  as  a  means  to  this 
end  :  —  the  gods  do  not  trouble  themselves  about  men, 
and  death  puts  an  end  to  all  tilings.  The  dry  subject- 
matter  and  the  unpoetic  character  of  the  soulless,  mechan- 
ical Epicureanism,  as  well  as  the  then  existing  poverty  of 
the  Latin  language  in  philosophical  terms,  presented  the 
greatest  difficulties  to  the  poet ;  still,  his  enthusiasm  for  the 
idea,  his  energetic  grasp  of  the  system,  his  earnest,  inde- 
pendent cast  of  mind,  his  wTCStling  with  subject-matter  and 
language,  and  his  high  poetic  talent,  manifesting  itself  in 
the  very  contest  with  these  difficulties,  render  the  work 
one  of  the  highest  interest.  Yet,  on  account  of  the  an- 
tique coloring,  and  the  often  abstruse  contents,  it  is  not 
always  easy  to  understand  and  enjoy.  Lucretius  exercised 
a  great  influence  upon  subsequent  poets,  among  them 
Horace  and  Ovid.  By  the  later  writers,  with  a  per\erted 
admiration  for  antiquity,  he  was  preferred  to  the  poets  of 
the  Augustan  Age. 

In  the  department  of  Epic  Poetry,  however,  P.  Ver- 
gilius  Maro^  rises  above  all  others.'*  Virgil,  the  son  of  a 
farmer  in  easy  circumstances,  was  born  at  Andes,  near  Man- 
tua, on  the  15th  of  October,  70  B.C.  He  pursued  his  stud- 
ies, especially  rhetoric  and  philosophy,  under  Greek  teachers 
at  Cremona,  Milan,  and,  after  the  year  53,  in  Rome.  He 
then  returned  home,  lost  his  estate  twice  by  the  distributions 
of  land  in  41  and  40,  but  recovered  it  on  the  petition  of 
Asinius   Pollio  and   Maecenas,  came  into  intimate  relations 

1  Artis  relligionum  animum  nodis  exsolvere  pergo.     i.  930  f. 
'-  Naturae  species  ratioque.     ii.  60. 

3  C.  252;  T.  i.  406;  Mer.  iv.  573;  Kennedy's  Virgil:  Introd.;  Sellar: 
Roman  poets  of  the  Augustan  Age,  59. 

4  Vergilius  was  the  original  manner  of  writing ;  Virgilius  did  not  come 
into  use  until  the  Middle  Ages. 


42  ROMAN    LITERATURE. 

with  the  latter  in  39,  and  thenceforth  Hved  highly  esteemed 
by  Augustus,  Horace,  and  others.  He  dwelt,  for  the  most 
part,  in  Campania,  in  comfortable  circumstances,  though  in 
poor  health,  and  died  at  Brundisium,  on  his  return  journey 
from  Athens,  on  the  21st  of  September,  19  B.C.,  and  was 
buried  near  Naples.     An  ancient  epitaph  on  him  reads  :  — 

Mantua  me  genuit,  Calabri  rapueie,  tenet  nunc 
Parthenope,  cecini  pascua  rura  duces. 

As  a  man,  Virgil  was  an  aninia  Candida,  gentle,  pure 
in  morals,  amiable,  true-hearted,  bashful  and  awkward  in 
appearance  ; '  as  a  poet,  especially  fitted  for  the  expression 
of  gentle  and  deep  emotions  and  tender  relations,  for 
drawing  idyllic  pictures,  sentimentally  conceived  and  carried 
out.  Hence  he  was  a  sincere  and  enthusiastic  admirer  of 
the  era  of  peace  brought  about  by  Augustus.  Not  original 
in  flow  of  fancy,  nor  impelled  by  genius  to  write  poetry,  he 
worked  slowly  and  laboriously  with  a  definite  object  in  view, 
patiently  and  incessantly  polishing,  and  so  became  a  model 
of  correctness  and  elegance. 

The  probable  order  of  his  poems  is  as  follows  :  in  the 
years  41-39  (or  37?)  Eclogfe  U,  HI,  V,  I,  IX,  IV,  VI,  VHI, 
VII,  X;  in  the  years  37-30,  Georgica ;   29-19,  ^neis. 

I.  Biicolica-  consisting  of  10  idylls,  also  called  Eclogce, 
a  kind  of  poetry  which  is  really  foreign  to  the  Roman  mind, 
not  national  in  its  character.  Virgil  imitated  Tlieocritus, 
but  mostly  with  an  intermingling  of  personal  relations. 
Hence  the  sliepherd  characters  are  in  the  main  allegorical 
persons.^     The  situations  are  taken  from  the  circumstances 

1  Cf.  Hor.  Sat.  i.  3,  29,  seqq. 

2  C.  259;  T.  i.  411;  Mer.  iv.  575;  Conington's  Virgil,  i.  2;  Sellar :  A.u- 
gustan  poets,  132. 

3  For  example,  Eel.  i.  Tityrus  =  Virgil ;  Eel.  v.  Daphnis  =  Caesar. 


THIRD    PERIOD.  43 

of  the  poet,'  and  thus  he  writes  with  a  definite  purpose  in 
view,  —  a  method  of  treatment  of  which  this  kind  of  poe- 
try, naturally  naive  and  popular,  does  not  admit.  Never- 
theless the  Bucolics  were  greeted  with  great  applause  on 
the  part  of  the  Roman  public,  not  in  spite  of  the  allegory, 
but  on  account  of  it,  and  especially  on  account  of  their 
elegance  of  language  and  versification. 

2.  The  Geofgica-  were  written  at  the  suggestion  of 
Maecenas.  The  subject  was  Italian  agriculture.  Book  I 
treats  of  farming,  II,  of  the  culture  of  trees.  III,  of  catde- 
raising,  IV,  of  bee-culture. 

The  main  object  of  the  poet  was  to  bring  these  old  Roman 
occupations  into  honor  again,  especially  in  the  -eyes  of  the 
cultured  proprietors  of  large  estates,  with  no  intention  that 
the  poems  should  be  considered  a  hand-book  for  the  common 
peasants.  In  some  particulars,  Virgil  depended  upon  Greek 
models,  as  Hesiod,  Aratus,  and  others  ;  on  the  whole,  how- 
ever, the  treatment  is  independent,  because  the  subjects 
suited  his  individual  genius  and  his  personal  experience. 
The  tone  is  warm  and  lively,  the  language  skilfully  used,  and 
the  episodes-^  give  occasion  for  the  most  pleasing  variety,  so 
that  the  poem  "  is  the  most  perfect  production  of  any  con- 
siderable length  that  Roman  jioetry  has  to  offer"  (Teuffel). 

3.  The  ^'Eneis,'^  in  12   books,   was  not   completed,  and 


1  Cf.,  for  example,  Eel.  v.,  relating  to  Caesar;  i.,  thanks  to  Octavian  ;  ix., 
complaint  about  the  second  loss  of  his  estate;  iv.,  praise  of  Pollio ;  x.,  to 
Corn.  Callus. 

2  C.  261 ;  T.  i.  413;  Mer.  iv.  441 ;  Schlegel :  Hist,  of  Lit.  72 ;  Coning- 
ton's  Virgil,  i.  124;  Sellar,  174. 

3  Especially  ii.  136-176,  the  praise  of  Italy ;  ii.  323-345,  the  praise  of 
spring;  ii.  458-540,  the  praise  of  country  life;  iii.  339-383,  the  shepherd  life 
of  the  Scythians;  iii.  478-566,  the  Noric  cattle  pest;  iv.  315-558,  the  myth 
of  Aristaeus. 

*  <^.  265  ;  T.  i.  415  ;  Mer.  iv.  443  ;  Conington's  Virgil,  ii.  2 ;  Sellar,  292. 


44  ROMAN    LITERATURE. 

hence  it  was  Virgil's  wish  at  his  death  that  it  be  destroyed. 
It  was  published,  however,  by  his  friends  Varius  and 
Tucca,  but  without  additions  (hence  the  58  incomplete 
verses).  The  poem  treats  of  the  adventures  of  ^neas 
after  the  destruction  of  Troy,  his  arrival  in  Italy,  his  alli- 
ances and  contests  with  the  inhabitants.  The  model  for 
the  first  six  books  is  the  Odyssey,  and  for  the  last  six, 
the  Iliad. 

Virgil's  purpose  is,  on  the  one  hand,  to  trace  Rome  back 
to  the  setdement  of  the  Trojans  in  Italy  under  the  special 
leadership  of  the  gods,  and,  on  the  other,  to  show  the  de- 
scent of  the  patrician  families  from  the  Trojan  colonists, 
especially  of  the  Julian  family,  from  ^neas's  son  lulus. 
The  poem  was,  therefore,  a  glorification  of  the  Roman 
people  and  the  Julian  dynasty.  However,  the  legend  of 
yEneas  had  too  little  footing  in  the  national  consciousness, 
and  hence  Virgil  was  obliged  to  weave  in  a  multitude  of 
learned  notes,  acquired  by  industrious  study.  The  least 
successful  part  of  all  is  the  character  of  JEneas  himself, 
who  appears  not  as  the  strong  hero  of  antiquity,  but  as  a 
weak,  sentimental  man,  led  like  a  puppet  by  the  gods  {//us 
y£/ieas) . 

The  finest  parts  of  the  poem  are  those  in  which  passion 
plays  the  chief  part ;  before  all,  the  episode  of  Dido  in  the 
fourth  book.  Here  Virgil  reaches  the  height  of  his  theme. 
The  language  is  carefully  polished,  yet  —  particularly  when 
compared  with  that  of  Homer  —  not  simple  and  naive,  but 
rhetorical,  and  often  needlessly  pathetic. 

It  was  inevitable  that  the  poem  should  win  great  applause 
with  the  Romans,  especially  with  the  higher  circles,  on 
account  of  its  loyal  and  patriotic  motive,  its  scene  reminding 
them  of  home,  and,  also,  from  the  national  and  local  allu- 
sions, and  the  stateliness  of  the  verse. 


THIRD   PERIOD.  45 

Besides  the  above,  lesser  poems  have  been  attributed  to 
Virgil,  —  Culex,  Moretum  (the  most  successful),  Copa, 
Catalecta,  Ciris ;  ^  it  is,  however,  certain  that  Virgil  did  not 
write  the  Ciris.  They  are  mostly  idyllic  pictures  of  every- 
day hfe. 

Virgil  was  held  in  great  honor  by  the  Romans.^  His 
poems  soon  came  into  use  in  the  schools,  and  \vere  often 
imitated  and  interpreted.^  They  were  also  used  as  oracles, 
the  book  being  opened  at  random  {Sorfes  Vergiliana) . 

In  the  Middle  Ages  the  person  of  Virgil  was  invested  with 
a  multitude  of  romantic  legends.  He  was  considered  a 
miracle-worker  and  magician.  Dante  represents  himself  as 
led  by  Virgil  through  the  infernal  regions. 

Among  the  writers  of  didactic  poetry  under  Augustus  may 
be  mentioned  :  Gratius  Faliscus,  author  of  Cynegetica 
in  536  hexameters,  and  especially  Manilius,^  the  person- 
ally unknown  author  of  Astro  no  mica,  in  5  books,  which,  by 
their  originality,  in  spite  of  the  bias  for  astrology,  testify  to 
a  many-sided  culture,  and  are  very  correct  in  form. 

c  — Satire  and  Epistle. 

The  Satire  had  received  from  Lucilius  the  character 
of  a  criticism  of  the  existing  state  of  things,  and  had  taken 
on  the  form  of  poetry.  From  this  form  M.  Terentius 
Varro  (see  p.  82)  made  a  deviation,  inasmuch  as  he 
united  poetry  and  prose  in  his  150  books  Safin-cB  Menip- 


1  C.  257  ;  T.  i.  420. 

2  Cf.  Prop.  iii.  32,  65,  seq. 

Cedite  Romani  Scriptores,  cedite  Graii, 
Nescio  quid  maius  nascitur  Iliade. 

3  Commentary  of  Servius  in  the  fourth  Century.     See  p.  132. 

4  C.  313 ;  T.  i.  487. 


46  ROMAN   LITERATURE. 

pece}  In  very  arbitrary  form,-  and  with  loose  connection, 
Varro  treated  of  philosophical  questions  and  the  condition  of 
his  times.  His  standpoint  was  the  national  Roman  one  of 
the  good  old  times,  and  hence  opposed  to  modern  ideas. 
Only  fragments  of  his  works  remain.  Satire  received  its 
highest  development  from  Horace. 

Q.  Horatius  Flaccus-^  was  born  at  Venusia'*  on  the  8th 
of  December,  65  b.c.^  He  was  the  son  of  a  freedman,*^  who, 
however,  had  him  carefully  educated  at  Rome.'^  Becom- 
ing acquainted  with  M.  Brutus  at  Athens,  he  accepted  the 
post  of  tribunus  militum**  in  his  service,  but  was  unable,  at 
Philippi,  to  save  the  fortunes  of  the  Republic  by  his  bravery.^^ 
After  being  deprived  of  his  estate  by  the  distribution  of 
lands  under  Octavian,  he  became  a  scribe  for  the  quaestors, 
and  devoted  himself  to  writing  poetry. '^  Through  his  poems 
he  became  acquainted  with  Virgil  and  Varius,  and  through 
them  (in  39),  with  Mrecenas  ; "  after  wliich  time,  received 
also  into  the  circle  of  Augustus'  friends,  he  lived  in  the 
most  comfortable  circumstances.  In  the  year  37  he  accom- 
panied Maecenas  to  Brundisium,'-  and  received  from  him 
(in  2)Z)  a  modest  but  finely-situated  estate  near  Tibur,  —  the 
often-mentioned  Sabimmi.'^  He  died  on  the  27th  of  No- 
vember, 8  B.C.,  fifty-seven  years  of  age.     In  person,  Horace 


1  The  name  Saturre  Menippese  comes  from  the  fact  that  Varro  imitated 
the  cynic  Menippus,  who  had  written  such  satires.  T.  i.  238  ;  C.  144 ;  Mom. 
iv.  704. 

-  i'rose  and  poetry,  an  intermixture  of  Greek  words  and  sentences, 
variety  in  the  metre. 

8  C.  280;  T.  i.  433;  Mer.  iv.  452;   Macleane's  Commentary  :  Introd. 

*  Sat.  li.  I,  34,  seq.  ^  Od.  ii.  7,  9,  seqq. 

5  Epp.  i.  20,  27;  Od.  iii.  21,  i.  i"  Epp.  ii.  2,  50,  seq. 

6  Sat.  i.  6,  6,  seqq.  1^  Sat.  i.  6,  54,  seqq. 
T  Sat.  i.  6,  71,  seqq.                                     12  gat.  i.  5. 

8  Sat.  i.  6,  48.  ^'  Sat.  ii.  6,  i,  seqq. 


THIRD    PERIOD.  47 

was  short  and  fleshy ; '  his  dark  hair  he  lost  in  his  later 
years. 2 

The  poems  of  Horace  are,  in  part,  Satires  and  Epistles,  — 
both  together  also  called  Sermones,  —  and,  in  part,  lyric 
poems,  Odes  and  Epodes.  As  regards  the  time  of  publi- 
cation. Sat.  I  was  probably  published  in  the  year  34,  Sat.  II 
in  30,  and,  also,  the  Epodes,  at  about  the  same  time  with 
the  latter  ;  Odes  I-III  in  23,  Epp.  I  in  20,  Carmen  Sseculare, 
16;  Od.  IV  was  composed  after  18,  and  Epp.  II  after  17. 
His  latest  production  was  probably  Epp.  II,  3,  the  Ars 
Poetica. 

I.  Satires.-^ — The  contents  of  the  Satires  are  extremely 
varied.  A  specifically  in\-ective  motive  is  not  found  in  all  of 
them.  In  some,  Horace  presents  to  a  cultivated  public 
rather  his  own  life-experiences  and  maxims  of  conduct, 
rarely,  indeed,  without  occasional  side-thrusts  and  stabs ; 
thus,  in  Sat.  I,  4,  II.  i,  he  sets  forth  the  nature  of  his  satire  ; 
in  Sat.  I,  10,  his  relations  to  Lucilius ;  in  II,  6,  his  relations 
to  Maecenas  and  the  happiness  of  country  retirement ;  in  I, 
6,  the  enjoyment  of  modest  independence  ;  in  II,  2,  the 
praise  of  frugal  contentment.  In  most  of  the  Satires,  how- 
ever, Horace  makes  a  target  of  particular  moral  obliquities, 
or,  at  least,  weaknesses,  and  ridiculous  phases,  either  of  the 
existing  time  or  of  mankind  in  general;  thus,  in  I,  i,  the 
constant  discontent  of  men  with  their  lot  ;  in  I,  2,  the  ex- 
tremes to  which  the  passions  may  extend ;  in  I,  9,  the 
despicable  forwardness  of  many  in  their  attempt  to  get  into 
the  higher  circles  :  in  II,  3,  the  exaggerations  of  Stoic  Phil- 
osophy ;  in  II,  5,  legacy-hunting  ;  in  II,  8,  the  plebeian  boast- 
fulness  of  the  rich  parvenu. 


1  Sat.  ii.  3,  309 ;  Epp.  i.  20,  24.  2  Epp.  i.  7,  26. 

•  C.  292 ;  T.  i.  439 ;  Mer.  iv.  449 ;  Schlegel :  Hist,  of  Lit.  74. 


48  ROMAN    LITERATURE. 

To  such  a  variety  of  contents  this  may  be  added,  that 
Horace,  in  accordance  with  the  form  of  the  Sermo,  i.e.,  of  the 
conversation,  does  not  proceed  in  detail  according  to  careful 
arrangement,  but,  though  fully  conscious  of  his  theme,  goes 
on  with  easy  carelessness ;  furthermore,  that  he  does  not  so 
much  attack  with  sharpness  and  moral  indignation  what  is 
really  immoral,  as  make  the  perversities  which  present  a 
laughable  side,  the  petty  doings  of  men  in  social  and  literary 
life,  the  object  of  good-natured  ridicule,  yet  without  any 
lack  of  earnestness  when  occasion  demands  ;  and  finally, 
that  lie  keeps  himself  far  removed  from  the  captious  and 
vexatious  sphere  of  politics.  All  this  contributes  toward 
awakening  and  preserving  in  the  reader  a  good-humored 
state  of  mind  and  a  lively  interest,  especially  since,  for  the 
most  part,  such  traits  of  human  character  are  made  promi- 
nent, as,  unrestricted  by  national  or  local  bounds,  are  found 
at  all  times  and  in  all  places. 

2.  Epistles.^  —  The  Epistles  are  written  from  the  stand- 
point of  one  who  takes  a  settled  and  calm  view  of  life  ;  and 
they  are  also  shaped  with  greater  care  than  the  Satires. 
Beginning,  at  the  start,  with  personal  matters  and  relations 
(to  which  only  the  shorter  Epistles  are  confined,  as,  for  exam- 
ple, I,  4,  8,  9,  2o),  but  generally  going  beyond  these,  Horace 
treats  of  the  most  varied  relations  of  life,  and  especially  lite- 
rary life,  in  a  style  rich  in  apt  maxims,  but  never  over-adorned 
nor  wanting  in  taste,  and  lays  down  in  these  letters,  with  a 
calm  and  comprehensive  understanding  of  life,  the  results  of 
long  observation  and  experience.  Those  Epistles  are  of  es- 
pecial interest  which  treat  of  his  relations  with  Maecenas,-  as 
well  as  those  of  the  second  book,  in  which  Horace  sets  forth 
his  literary  views,  and  places  as  the  ultimate  goal,  the  imitation 

1  T.  i.  448  ;  C.  293 ;  Mer.  iv.  457.  2  s.  i.  i,  7,  19. 


THIRD    PERIOD.  49 

of  Greek  perfection  of  form  in  contrast  to  the  affected  return 
to  the  old  Roman  poets  ; '  he  also  shows  the  false  aesthetic 
theories  of  the  times,  which  seem  to  him  enough  to  render 
the  poet's  avocation  unendurable.-  The  richest  and  most 
comprehensive  Epistle  is  II,  3,  Ep.  ad  Pisones,  designated 
by  QuintiUan  as  liber  de  arte  poetica,  in  which  Horace, 
without  professing  to  be  full  and  systematic,  discusses,  with 
excellent  and  independent  judgment,  a  series  of  literary 
questions,  with  special  reference  to  the  drama.^ 

3.  Odes.*'  —  In  respect  to  time,  the  first  three  books  of 
the  Odes  lie  between  the  Satires  and  Epistles.  To  these 
was  added,  later,  the  fourth  book.  The  lyric  writings  of 
Horace  take  their  root  in  the  imitation  of  Greek  models, 
and  especially  of  those  ^olic  melic  poets,  who  portray  in 
the  simplest  form  the  common  human  feelings  and  senti- 
ments ;  namely,  Alcaeus,  Sappho,  and  Anacreon.  He  rises 
gradually,  however,  with  an  increasing  consciousness  of  his 
powers,  to  an  independent  position.  In  harmony  with  the 
thoughtful  nature  of  the  poet's  disposition,  his  lyrics  are 
essentially  poetry  of  the  reflective  kind,  his  poems  are  in 
general  the  product  of  industry  and  study ;  for  this  reason 
lofty  flights  of  imagination  and  stormy  feeling  are  excluded, 
but  not  warmth  and  inwardness  of  sentiment.^  Those  Odes 
are  the  most  successful  which  present  in  easy  style  the  pic- 
ture of  an  otium  contented  with  itself,  in  agreeable,  nat- 
ural, and  human  surroundings,  or  which  set  forth  in  quiet 
tone  the  worldly  wisdom  of  the  poet,  —  Odes  in  which  Horace 
expresses  his  own  peculiar  nature  ;  ^  while  those  which  strike 
a  higher  tone,  not  quite  corresponding  to  the  genius  of  the 

1  Epp.  ii.  I.  2  Epp.  ii.  2.  3  c.  295  ;  Macleane,  696. 

*  C.  287 ;  T.  i.  442 ;  Schlegel :  Hist,  of  Lit.  73 ;  Milman's  Life  of  Horace. 

8  Cf.  Od.  iv.  2,  31,  seq. 

6  For  example,  B.  i.  4,  7,  22,  37 ;  ii.  3,  3,  7,  9,  10,  14 ;  iii.  13,  21. 


,  50  ROMAN    LITERATURE. 

poet,  or  at  discord  with  it,  as  well  as  those  Odes  which  are 
prompted  by  external  motives,  make  a  less  harmonious  im- 
pression.' Throughout  all,  however,  we  find  an  abundance 
of  true  and  finely-expressed  thoughts ;  and  the  form,  first 
artistically  wrought  out  by  Horace  according  to  the  various 
metres,  became,  by  virtue  of  a  constantly-increasing  correct- 
ness and  elegance,  a  model  for  the  technique  of  the  Roman 
poets,  which  paved  the  way  before  them,  and  was  never 
afterwards  equalled.- 

4.  Epodes."'  —  The  Epodcs  are  related  to  the  Odes  in 
form,  and  to  the  Satires  in  subject-matter.'*  They  contain, 
for  the  most  part,  attacks  upon  individual  persons  in  a  tone 
prevailingly  sharp,  and  sometimes  cynical. 

The  personality  of  Horace  is  reflected  in  his  poetry  in  an 
uncommon  degree.^  He  is  preeminently  endowed  on  the 
side  of  the  understanding  and  reflection ;  his  views  and 
principles  are  not  taken  from  any  given  system  of  philoso- 
phy, though  he  speaks  of  himself  as  an  Epicurean,  but  they 
are  the  outflow  of  an  eminently  sound  common-sense,  of 
shrewd  and  sharp  observation,  and  of  a  self-contained,  har- 
monious nature.  His  aim  is  to  acquire  restfulness  and 
contentment  by  a  cheerful,  but  temperate  enjoyment  of  life, 
by  calmness  in  view  of  external  things,  and  by  an  ever-ad- 
vancing culture  and  inward  deepening.  In  his  relations 
with  others,  kindly,  social,  and  reliable,  he  still  preserves 
his  independence,  and,  when  necessary,  disagrees  even  with 


1  As,  for  example,  iii.  1-6. 

2  Quint.  Inst.  Orat.  x.  i,  96:  Lyricorum  Horatius  fere  solus  legi  dignus ; 
nam  et  insurgit  aliquando  et  plenus  est  iucunditatis  et  gratise  et  variis 
figuris  et  verbis  felicissime  audax. 

3  This  name,  which  did  not  originate  with  Horace,  denotes  the  union  of 
a  long  with  a  short  verse.     Horace  himself  calls  these  verses  iambi. 

4  C.  286;  T.  i.  441.  5  T.  i.  437. 


THIRD    PERIOD.  5  I 

the  highest  personages,  as,  for  example,  with  Augustus,  when 
his  own  views  do  not  accord  with  the  wishes  of  others. 
In  fuhiess  and  variety  of  thought,  wealth  of  practical  ex- 
perience, charity  of  judgment,  kindly  humor,  and  grace 
and  elegance  of  form,  Horace  is  a  poet  of  never-failing 
interest  and  never-waning  importance.  For  this  reason  he 
has  always  found  admirers,  imitators,  and  commentators,  as 
scarcely  any  other  poet  has  done.  Indeed,  the  one-sided 
presumption  of  his  faultlessness  has  led  to  error,  as  when,  for 
example,  Hofman  Peerlkamp  in  Holland  (in  1834),  and 
others  since  his  time  have  attempted  summarily  to  cast  out 
as  not  genuine  the  less  perfect  i)arts  of  his  works. 

From  ancient  times  the  scholia  of  Porphyrid  (about  200 
A.D.)  are  preserved.  A  collection  of  scholia  made  in  the 
seventh  century  bears  the  name  of  Aero. 

Virgil  and  Horace,  though  sustaining  relations  of  inti- 
mate friendship,  still  form,  in  many  respects,  a  contrast  to 
each  other.  Virgil  was  tall,  lank,  sickly  in  appearance,  stiff, 
and  almost  offensively  awkward  in  his  movements  ;  Horace, 
short  and  thick-set,  sleek  and  well  favored,  moving  in  society 
with  the  ease  of  a  man  of  the  world  ;  Virgil,  shy,  slow,  and 
stammering  in  his  speech  ;  Horace,  ready  in  conversation, 
witty,  and  sharp,  upon  occasion  ;  Virgil  a  feminine,  gentle, 
introspective  nature  ;  Horace,  cultivated  by  contact  with  the 
world,  grasping  outward  circumstances  with  sure  hold,  and 
using  them  for  his  purposes  ;  Virgil,  a  man  of  the  heart, 
religious,  and  earnest  ;  Horace,  a  man  of  the  understanding, 
with  a  bent  toward  philosophic  calm,  undisturbed  either  by 
external  things  or  by  passion  ;  Virgil,  devoting  himself  from 
conviction  to  Augustus  as  his  benefactor,  and  the  author  of 
universal  peace  ;  Horace,  with  all  his  devotion,  still  keeping 
at  such  a  distance  as  to  insure  his  independence  ;  Virgil,  as 
a  poet,  rhetorical  and  lofty,  of  almost  feminine  gentleness 


52  ROMAN    LITERATURE. 

and  tenderness ;  Horace,  natural,  clear,  transparent,  full  of 
manly,  self-reliant  consciousness. 


tf— Lyric  Poetry. 

Up  to  this  time  Lyric  Poetry  had  occupied  a  subordi- 
nate position ;  but  it  rose  in  this  period,  particularly  under 
Augustus,  to  a  higher  plane.  This  was  true  in  the  highest 
degree  of  the  Elegy,  a  variety  of  the  Lyric  which  was  copied 
after  the  Alexandrian  poets,  but  in  which  the  Romans  ex- 
celled the  originals  in  form  and  subject-matter  ;  but  especially 
of  the  erotic  Elegy,  which,  already  introduced  by  Catullus, 
was  treated  with  skill  and  success  by  Ovid,  Tibullus,  and 
Propertius,  while  Horace  confined  himself  to  the  writing  of 
Odes.  Roman  lyric  poetry,  turning  away  from  political  life, 
took  its  subject-matter  from  the  sphere  of  those  sentiments 
and  emotions  which  are  common  to  humanity,  and  which 
lie  at  the  basis  of  song  in  all  times. 

Among  the  lyric  poets  of  the  Ciceronian  age,  the  most 
important  one  '  (excepting  C.  Licinius  Calvus,  of  whose 
writings  only  a  few  verses  are  preserved)  is  C.  Valerius 
Catullus,  born  at  Verona,  87  b.c,  of  a  wealthy  family  to 
which  the  peninsula  of  Sirmio  in  the  Lago  di  Garda  belonged. 
He  lived  chiefly  at  Rome,  in  the  higher,  light-minded  circles, 
was  with  the  propraetor  Alemmius  (57-56)  in  Bithynia,  and 
died  about  the  year  53. 

His  erotic  poems  have  reference  to  a  woman  bearing 
the  pseudonym  Lesbia,  probably  the  sister  of  the  notorious 
P.  Clodius.  Other  poems  relate,  among  other  things,  to 
the  death  of  his  brother,  which  took  place  in  Bithynia  ;  to 
his  relations  with  both  friends  and  enemies,  —  as  when  he 


1  The  greatest  lyric  poet  of  Roman  literature.    T.  i.  373. 


THIRD    PERIOD.  53 

sharply  attacks  Caesar,  not  so  much  on  poHtical  grounds  as 
from  personal  antipathy  against  Caesar's  favorite,  Mamurra. 

Among  his  longer  poems  (not  including  his  imitations  of 
Alexandrian  poems),  the  hymn  on  the  marriage  of  Alan /ins 
Torquatus  deserves  special  mention.  Catullus  achieved  his 
greatest  success,  however,  in  his  short  love-songs  and  pic- 
tures of  every-day  life.  He  is  a  thoroughly  naive  poet ; 
impetuous  in  love  and  hate,  he  is  frequently  tender  and 
ardent ;  full  of  cheerful  humor,  he  is  often  cynically  harsh 
and  sharp  ;  always  characterized  by  skilful  handling  of  his 
very  varied  and  occasionally  rare  metres. ^  The  common 
collection,  arbitrarily  arranged,  contains  116  poems.- 

Under  Augustus  lyric  poetry  was  chiefly  represented  by 
Cornelius  Gallus,  Ovid,  TibuUus,  and  Propertius. 

Cornelius  Gallus,-^  born  at  Forum  lulii,  69  b.c,  was  a 
friend  of  Virgil  (who  addressed  his  Tenth  Eclogue  to  him), 
and  for  a  long  time,  also,  of  Augustus  ;  but  having  fallen  into 
disfavor  with  the  latter  after  his  administration  in  Egypt, 
he  committed  suicide  in  the  year  26.  None  of  his  poems 
have  been  preserved.'' 

P.  Ovidius  Naso  was  born  March  28,  48  B.C.,  at  Sulmo, 
ill  the  country  of  the  Peligni.  He  was  the  son  of  a  well-to- 
do  Roman  knight,  pursued  rhetorical  studies  at  Rome,  filled 
judicial  offices  for  a  short  time,  then  made  a  journey  to 
(Greece  and  Asia,  was  married  three  times,  was  suddenly 
banished  by  Augustus,  in  9  a.d.,  to  Tomi  (near  the  modern 
Kostendsche),  on  the  Black  Sea,  and  died  there  in  the  year 
1 7,  unpardoned,  in  spite  of  the  most  urgent  complaints  and 


1  As,  for  example,  the  Galliambus  in  the  poem  entitled  Attn. 

2  C.  233;    S.  337;   T.  i.  373 ;  Mom.  iv.  702;  Ellis's  Commentary :    Pro- 
lego  m. 

3  C.  298  ;  T.  i.  431. 

*  A  romantic  treatment  of  his  career  may  be  found  in  Becker's  "  Gallus," 


54  ROMAN    LITERATURE. 

entreaties.  As  the  cause  of  this  hard  treatment,  Ovid  men- 
tions 1  carmen  et  error?  By  carmen  is  doubtless  to  be  un- 
derstood the  ars  amatoria,  which  may  have  been  offensive 
to  Augustus  on  account  of  its  frivolity.  On  the  other  hand, 
concerning  the  term  error  we  can  only  make  conjectures. 
If  Ovid,  with  his  somewhat  effeminate  nature,  accustomed 
to  the  sensuous  and  the  intellectual  enjoyments  ot  Rome, 
displayed  little  composure  in  exile,  it  finds  its  excuse,  per- 
haps, in  the  nature  and  position  of  Tomi. 

Ovid's  earliest  poems  belong  to  the  department  of  erotic 
elegy  :  A  mo  res,  in  3  books,  published  14  B.C. ;  Epistulce"^ 
(or  Hei'oides),  imaginary  love-letters  by  women  of  the  He- 
roic Age,  for  example,  Briseis,  Penelope,  Phaedra ;  Ars 
amatoria,  in  3  books,  published,  probably,  2  B.C. ;  as  the 
counterpart  of  this,  Remedia  amoris,  one  book,  and  the 
Medicatnina  faciei,  only  partially  preserved.  All  the  above 
■  were  written  in  a  light,  and  some  in  a  frivolous  tone.  The 
15  books  Metamorphoseon,^  written  in  epic  metre,  are  taken 
from  mythological  sources.  They  deal  with  such  myths, 
from  the  beginning  of  the  world  to  the  apotheosis  of  Caesar, 
as  end  with  a  metamorphosis.  The  myths  are  freely  handled 
after  Greek  models,  and  often  loosely  connected  with  each 
other.  On  account  of  his  banishment,  the  work  was  not  fully 
completed.  Simpler,  more  practical,  and  more  earnest  are 
the  6  books  Fasfonnn,''  a  calendar  written  in  elegiac  metre, 
which  contains,  in  addition  to  astronomical  data,  a  connect- 
ed mythological  and  historical  account  of  the  origin  of  the 


1  Trist.  ii.  207.  2  q_  ^og;  T.  i.  471. 

3  C.  306  ;  T.  i.  473  ;  Mer.  iv.  462;  Palmer's  Ovidii  Heroides.  "  The  Loves 
of  the  Heroines  is  the  most  elevated  and  refined  in  sentiment  of  all  elegiac 
compositions  of  the  Romans."     Mer.  iv.  463. 

■I  C.  308  :  T.  i.  477- 

s  Mer.  iv.  463 ;  Ramsay's  Ovid  ;  Paley  :  Ovid's  Fasti. 


THIRD    PERIOD.  55 

lloman  festivals.  The  completion  of  this  work,  also,  which 
had  been  planned  to  consist  of  1 2  books  corresponding  to 
the  1 2  months,  and  which,  in  spite  of  the  autlior's  superficial 
metliods,  contains  a  great  number  of  important  notices  re- 
sjDecting  the  old  Italic  religion,  was  rendered  impossible  by 
his  banishment. 

At  Tomi,  Ovid  wrote,  in  elegiac  metre,  the  Tristia  in  5 
books,  —  complaints  respecting  the  troubles  of  tlie  journey 
and  of  life  in  a  strange  land,  together  with  a  letter  to  .\ugus- 
tus,^  and  letters  to  his  wife  ;  Epistuhc  ex  Ponto,  4  books, 
consisting  of  letters  to  various  persons  whom  he  mentions  by 
name  ;  then,  Ibis,  an  abusive  poem  against  an  anonymous 
person ;  finally,  an  incomplete  didactic  poem  entitled  Ilali- 
eutica  (132  Hexameters),  treating  of  the  fish  in  the  Black 
Sea.2 

Other  poems,  especially  a  panegyric  on  Augustus,  written 
in  the  Getic  language,  are  not  preserved. 

Ovid  possessed  a  poetic  nature,  richly  gifted  and  hap- 
pily endowed  ;  but  as  a  jwet,  no  less  than  a:;  a  man,  he  is 
without  earnestness  antl  self-control.-^  His  talents  manifest 
themselves,  therefore,  chiefly  in  his  uncommon  facility  of 
versification,  which  l)ecame  to  him  a  second  nature  and  a 
necessity,'^  while  the  labor  which  is  necessary  to  supplement 
even  the  best  natural  gifts  quickly  becomes  distasteful  to  him. 
Hence  what  he  says  in  special  reference  to  political  activity^ 
may  be  applied  also  to  his  poetical  labor.     Even  the  ancient 


1  Book  ii.  -  T.  i.  479;   C.  310.  ^  T.  i.  469;   Mer.  iv.  464. 

*  Trist.  iv.  10,  26 :  Et  quod  temptabam  dicere  versus  erat. 
5  Trist.  iv.  10,  37-40 :  — 

Nee  corpus  patiens  nee  mens  fuit  apta  labori, 
Sollicitaeque  fugax  ambitionis  eram. 
Et  petere  Aoniae  suadebant  tuta  sorores 
Otia  iudicio  semper  amata  meo. 


56  ROMAN   LITERATURE. 

critics  lamented  the  fact  that  he  gave  himself  up  too  much  to 
his  ready  skill  in  form,  and  to  the  wealth  of  his  imagination,' 
and  that  he  likes  to  see  a  stain  upon  what  is  pure  and  per- 
fect in  order  that  it  may  thus  seem  piquant. ^  In  this  re- 
spect he  may  be  compared  to  the  German  poet  Heine. 

Living  for  a  long  time  in  happy  circumstances,  moving  in 
the  high  circles  of  the  capital,  and  penetrated  with  modern 
views  and  customs,  Ovid  is  the  poet  of  fine,  courtly,  but  also 
of  light-minded,  superficial,  and  frivolous  society.  His  tal- 
ents serve  only  to  entertain,  without  stirring  deeply.  He 
treats  his  subjects  with  pleasing  playfulness,  with  keen  wit, 
and  not  seldom  with  open  or  concealed  irony,  but  he  sinks 
too  often  into  wordy  jingle  and  trifling,  because  earnestness 
and  moderation  are  wanting  to  him. 

In  the  Middle  Ages  the  Metamorphoses  in  particular  was 
much  read,  and  a  paraphrase  of  it  was  written  in  German 
couplets,  about  the  year  1200,  by  Albrecht  von  Halberstadt, 
at  the  suggestion  of  the  landgrave  Hermann  of  Thiiringen. 

Albius  Tibullus  was  born,  about  54  b.c,  of  a  wealthy 
equestrian  family,  nor  was  he  left  without  means  aft^r  his 
losses  by  the  distribution  of  lands  in  41.  He  attached  him- 
self to  Valerius  Messala,  whom  he  accompanied  in  28  to  the 
Aquitanian  war,  and  died  in  19. 

After  some  practice  in  Alexandrian  versification, •*  Tibullus 
reached  his  highest  plane  in  the  songs  addressed  to  his  be- 
loved Delia,''  and  in  those  on  the  relations  of  Sulpicia  and 


1  For  example,  Quint.  Inst.  Oiat.  x.  i,  98  :  Ovidii  Medea,  —  a  tragedy  not 
extant,  —  videtur  mihi  ostendere,  quantum  ille  vir  proestare  potuerit,  si  inge- 
nio  suo  imperare  quam  indulgere  maluisset. 

2  Sen.  Controv.  ii.  10,12:  Aiebat  decentiorem  faciem  esse,  in  qua  aliquis 
nsevos  fuisset. 

^  Cf.  the  panegyric  on  Messala,  iv.  i,  if  this  is,  indeed,  by  him. 
*  Book  i. 


THIRD   PERIOD.  57 

Cerinthus.i  In  Book  II  the  relation  to  Nemesis  forms  the 
subject.  Book  III  is  not  by  TibuUus,  but  by  an  unknown 
imitator. 

TibuUus  is  the  greatest  Roman  elegiac  poet,  a  truly  elegiac 
nature,  revelling  in  the  passion  of  love,  in  the  sentimental 
portrayal  of  peaceful,  frugal,  idealized  country  life,  with  a  vein 
of  longing  and  sadness,-  simple,  warm,  and  sympathetic,  pos- 
sessed of  fine  taste  and  a  power  of  artistic  shaping,  as  com- 
plete as  it  is  naive  in  its  manifestation.^ 

The  younger  contemporary  of  TibuUus  was  S.  Proper- 
tius,'^  born  about  50  u.c.  in  Umbria,  probably  at  Asisium. 
He  lost  a  part  of  his  property  in  the  distribution  of  lands  in 
41,  then  lived  in  Rome,  where  he  made  liimsetf  acquainted 
with  the  Alexandrian  writers,  especially  with  Callimachus. 
He  was  introduced  to  Maecenas  about  26,  after  the  appear- 
ance of  his  first  book  of  poems,  and  died  in  15. 

The  subject  of  Book  I  is  his  first,  complete  love  for 
"  Cynthia."  •''  It  was  published  by  Propertius  himself  in  the 
beginning  of  26.  Books  II  and  III  (or,  according  to  Lach- 
man,  II-IV)  appeared  later.  Book  IV  (or  V),  which  con- 
tains several  pieces  having  reference  to  the  early  history  of 
Rome,  similar  to  the  Fasti  of  Ovid,  was  probably  not  issued 
till  after  the  poet's  death. 

T\\e Erotic Ekgy  is  with  Propertius  the  immediate  outflow 
of  his  nature  and  his  life.  He  is  sensuous,  passionate,  and 
full  of  imagination.''  The  enjoyment  of  his  poems  is  not  un- 
frequently  disturbed  by  mythological  additions,  which  border 


1  iv.  2-7,  while  iv.  8-12  are  perhaps  by  Sulpicia  herself. 

2  Cf.  especially  i.  I,  3,  10;  ii.  i. 

3  Horace  addressed  to  TibuUus,  Od.  i.  33  and  Epp.  i.  4.    C.  301 ;  T.  i.  460. 
*  Paley's  Propertius  :  Preface. 

5  A  mistress  of  his,  whose  real  name  was  Hostia. 

6  C.  303 ;  T.  i.  241. 


58  ROMAN    LITERATURE. 

upon  overloading  and  obscurity.  They  owe  their  smooth- 
ness and  finish,  however,  to  the  study  of  the  Alexandrian 
writers  ;  and  the  same  is  true,  indeed,  of  their  forced  concise- 
ness of  expression. 

Quintilian  says,'  concerning  the  Roman  elegy :  Elegia 
Graecos  provocamus,  cuius  mihi  tersus  atque  elegans  maxi- 
me  videtur  auctor  Tibullus,  sunt  qui  Propertium  malint; 
Ovidius  utroque  lascivior,  sicut  durior  Gallus. 


11.    PROSE. 

a.  —  Oratory. 

In  contrast  to  the  gciii/s  Asiaticum,  —  the  overloaded, 
bombastic  style  of  oratory,  —  stood  the  genus  Attictim,  the 
other  extreme,  associated  chiefly  with  the  name  of  Lysias, 
and  characterized  by  artificial  simplicity,  homeliness,  and 
sobriety  of  expression.  Midway  between  these  stood  the 
ge?ius  RJiodiiim.  The  genus  Asiaticum  was  chiefly  repre- 
sented by  Hortensius,  the  genus  Atticum  by  Caesar,  M. 
Brutus,  Cgelius  Rufus,  and  others,  —  later  by  Asinius  Pollio  ; 
the  genus  Rhodium,  by  Cicero.  In  the  Augustan  Period, 
political  activity,  and,  with  it,  oratory,  had  to  disappear  from 
the  public  stage.-  It  retired  into  the  Senate,  into  the  sittings 
of  the  centumviri,  but  particularly  into  the  schools  and 
audience-rooms ;  while,  in  the  place  of  public,  practical 
oratory,  appeared  rhetoric  and  the  oratory  of  the  schools  ; 
in  place  of  the  orator,  appeared  the  rhetorician.^  Indeed, 
even  in  the  time  of  Sulla,  rhetoric  had  been  introduced  into 
Rome  by  Greek  teachers,  and  Cicero  had  joined  with  his 
practice  the  writing  of  theoretical  books  ;  but  the  condition 

1  Inst.  Orat.  x.  1,  93.  -  T.  i.  385;  C.  319;  Mer.  iv.  431. 

3  Cf,  Tac.  Dial.  14:  novorum  rhetorum  —  veterum  oratorum. 


THIRD    PERIOD. 


59 


of  things  under  the  Empire  first  brought  rhetoric  to  its  full 
development.'  No  regard  was  now  paid  to  practical  ends  ; 
the  subjects  were  invented ;  the  main  thing  was  practice  in 
form  and  skill  in  delivery.  The  school-orations  were  divided 
into  controversy,  suasoricB,  and  laudationes,  or  vituperatioties?' 

As  public  orators  in  the  first  half  of  this  period,  may  be 
mentioned  (besides  Hortensius,  see  p.  31):  Caesar  ^  (sum- 
mis  oratoribus  semulus),"^  M.  Calidius,  C.  Memmius,  C. 
Curio,  M.  Caelius  Rufus ;  somewhat  later,  Asinius 
Pollio,  who  represented  the  extreme  of  the  Attic  style,  was 
hard  and  antiquated,  after  the  model  of  Thucydides,  and 
M.  Valerius  Messala,  who  more  nearly  resembled  Cicero 
in  style  ;  in  the  Augustan  Period,  Cassius  Severus,  who, 
on  account  of  the  aggressiveness  of  his  oratory,  was  banished 
about  12  A.D. 

Quintilian  ^  thus  characterizes  these  orators  :  Vim  C?esaris, 
indolem  Cselii,  subtilitatem  Calidii,  diligentiam  Pollionis,  dig- 
nitatem Messalae,  gravitatem  Bruti,  acerbitatem  Cassii  re- 
periemus. 

At  the  head  of  Roman  oratory  stood  M.  Tullius  Cicero. 

Survey  of  His  Life  and  Writings. 


B.C. 
106 

90,  seqq. 


Jan.  3.  Cicero  born  at  Arpinum. 

Instructed  in  oratory  at  Rome 
by  Greek  teachers,  especially 
Molo  ;  became  acquainted 
with  the  orators  Antony  and 
Crassus  ;  introduced  to  the 
study  of  law   by   Q.   Mucius 


1  T.  i.  392,  537. 
4  Tac.  Ann.  xiii.  3. 


2  T.  i.  544 ;  C.  321. 
5  Inst.  Orat.  xii.  10,  11. 


C.  196;  T.  i.  314. 


6o 


ROMAN    LITERATURE. 


B.C. 

Scaevola,  Augur,  and  Q.  Mu- 
cius  Scsevola,  Pont.  max. 

89 

Cicero  in  the  army  of  Cn.  Pom- 
peius  Strabo;    instructed  in 
philosophy  by  Phaedrus  and 
Philo. 

de  inventions  (the  year  un- 
certain). 

81 

His  first  oration  :  pro  Quintio. 

80 

Oratio  pro  S.  Roscio  Amerino. 

79-77 

Went  to  Greece,  Rhodes,  and 
Asia  Minor  for  purposes  of 
study. 

77 

Married  to  Terentia. 

75 

Quaestor  in  Sicily. 

70 

Engaged  in  the  suit  of  the  Si- 
cilians against  Verres. 

Orationes  Verrinae. 

69 

^dile. 

68-43 

Epp.  ad  Atticum. 

66 

Praetor. 

Oratio  de  imp.  Cn.  Pompei. 

63 

Consul ;  called  pater  patrice  on 
account  of  the    suppression 
of  the  Catihnarian  conspira- 
cy ;  goes  over  to  the  party  of 
the  Optimates. 

Orationes  iv. in Catilinam;  pro 
Murena. 

62 

Orationes  pro  Sulla,pro  Archia. 

62-43 

Epp.  ad  FamiUares. 

60-54 

Epp.  ad  Quintum  fratrem. 

58 

Cicero,  banished,  goes  to  Thes- 
salonica. 

THIRD    PERIOD. 


6i 


57 
55 

54-51 

53 

52 
51-50 

49 


47 
46 

45 
44 


43 


Sept.  4th,  returns  to  Rome. 

Vacillates  between  the  Trium- 
viri and  the  Senate. 


Augur. 

Governor  in  Cilicia,  iniperator. 

Cicero  goes  in  June  to  Pompey 
at  Dyrrhachium. 

In  September  returns  to  Italy; 
forced  stay  at  Brundisium. 

September.  His  return  to  Rome 
is  permitted  by  Ctesar. 

Divorce  from  Terentia ;    mar- 
riage with  Publilia. 


Death  of  his  daughter  TuUia; 
divorce  from  Publilia. 

Joins  the  murderers  of  Caesar. 


Dec.  7.     Murdered. 


de  oratore. 
de  republica. 

Oratio  pro  Milone. 


Oratio  pro  Lig.,  Brut.,  Orator, 
de  legg.,  paradoxa,  de  part, 
orat. 

Oratio  pro  Deiot.,  de  fin., 
Acad.  (Consol.,  Timseus). 

Or.  Phil.  xiv.  (Sept.  2,  44-Apr. 
22,  43),  Topica,  de  opt.  gen. 
or.,  Tusc.  disp.,  de  nat.  deor., 
de  sen.,  de  div.,  de  fato,  de 
amic,  de  officiis. 


Cicero  performed  an  important  work  for  oratory,  partly  by 
means  of  his  orations,  and  partly  by  means  of  his  theoretical 
writings. 


62  ROMAN   LITERATURE. 

I.  The  Orations.  —  Of  Cicero,  as  an  orator,  Quintilian^ 
says  :  Apud  posteros  id  est  consecutus,  ut  Cicero  iam  non 
hominis  nomen,  sed  eloquentiae  habeatur. 

Cicero  was  created,  both  physically  and  mentally,  to  be  an 
orator.  Besides  a  good  voice,  and  a  tall  and  attractive  fig- 
ure, he  possessed  an  excellent  memory,  a  power  of  rapid 
grasp  and  combination,  fiery  feeling,  vivid  imagination,  quick 
and  telling  wit.  To  these  natural  gifts  were  added  a  bound- 
less desire  for  learning  and  wisdom,  tireless  industry,  and 
zealous  and  systematic  study.  Cicero's  orations  are  distin- 
guished by  resistless  energy,  moving  pathos,  variety  and  rapid 
change  of  sentiment,  fiery  delivery,  often  by  redundance 
of  expression,  by  a  brilliant  use  of  those  means  especially 
which  appeal  to  the  senses  and  feelings  of  the  hearer ;  in  a 
less  degree  by  moral  earnestness  and  a  regard  for  accuracy, 
in  which  respects  Cicero  is  certainly  inferior  to  Demos- 
thenes.- 

Of  Cicero's  orations,  fifty-seven  are  preserved  entire,  and 
about  twenty  in  a  fragmentary  condition.  All  that  is  known 
of  thirty-three  others  is,  that  they  were  delivered.  Among 
those  preserved,  the  following  deserve  special  mention  :  ^  pro 
Quintio,  the  first  oration  pronounced  by  Cicero  ;  pro  S.  Ros- 
cio  Amerino,  interesting  from  the  fact  that  in  it  an  attack  is 
made  upon  Chrysogonus,  a  favorite  of  Sulla ;  the  Verrince, 
against  C.  Verres,  the  plundering  praetor  of  Sicily,  together 
with  the  introductory  divinatio  in  Cceciliiim,  through  which 
Cicero  maintains  his  right  of  impeachment.  These  orations 
against  Verres  are  also  important  for  the  understanding  of 
Roman  provincial  government.  Further,  dc  imperio  Cn. 
Pompei,  by  which  Cicero  secured  to  Pompey  the  supreme 

1  Inst.  Orat.  xi.  112. 

2  T.  i.  265;  C.  169;  Mom.  iv.  726;  Mer.  ii.  422. 

8  Long's  commentary  on  Cicero's  orations;  Forsyth's  Life  of  Cicero. 


THIRD    PERIOD.  6;^ 

command  in  the  Third  Mithradatic  ^^'ar ;  ///  Z.  Catilinam, 
delivered  on  the  yth  and  Sth  of  November,  and  the  3d  and 
5th  of  December,  63  ;  pro  Miirena,  a  defense  of  the  consul, 
Licinius  Murena,  de  ambitu,  spiced  with  witty  sallies  against 
the  judges ;  pro  Sulla,  a  defense  against  the  charge  of  com- 
plicity in  the  conspiracy  of  Catiline ;  pro  Archia,  gaining  of 
the  right  of  Roman  citizenship  for  the  poet  Archias  :  pro  Sestio, 
against  a  charge  of  2ns,  together  with  an  extended  account 
of  the  affairs  of  the  Roman  parties  ;  pro  CcbUo,  interesting  in 
its  relation  to  the  history  of  morals  ;  pro  Milo?ie,  defense  of 
Milo,  charged  with  the  murder  of  P.  Clodius,  not  finished  in 
its  present  form  until  a  later  time  ;  pro  Ligario,  a  petition  to 
Caesar  in  behalf  of  Ligarius,  an  adherent  of  Pompey ;  pro 
Deiotaro,  defense  of  King  Deiotarus  of  Galatia,  charged 
with  an  attempt  upon  the  life  of  C^sar ;  the  14  Philippicce^ 
against  M.  Antonius,  of  which  the  most  important  is  the 
second,  which  was,  however,  produced  only  in  written 
form. 

2.  The  Rhetorical  Writings.-  —  Cicero  had  made 
himself  perfectly  accjuainted  with  the  theories  of  the  schools, 
through  the  instruction  he  had  received  from  Greek  rhetori- 
cians, and  from  the  study  of  Greek  theorists  and  orators, 
especially  of  Hermagoras  (second  century,  B.C.),  Aristotle, 
Demosthenes,  and  Isocrates.  Nevertheless,  his  scientific  edu- 
cation and  his  practical  career  caused  him  riot  to  remain  sat- 
isfied with  existing  theories,  but  to  keep  constantly  in  view 
the  requirement  and  experiences  of  Roman  praxis.  His 
writings  contain,  therefore,  a  system  resting,  for  the  most 
part,  upon  his  own  experience.     They  are,  in  detail,  as  fol- 


1  T.  i.  277;   C.  168 ;    King's  commentary;    Mayor's  Second   Philippic: 
Introd. 

2  T.  i.  280;  C.  180;  Mom.  iv.  728. 


64  ROMAN   LITERATURE. 

lows  :  de  inventione,  in  2  books,  a  crude  work  of  his  youth ; 
de  orafore,  in  3  books,  in  form  a  dialogue,  set  in  the  year  91, 
in  which  the  two  great  orators,  L.  Crassus  and  M.  Antonius, 
take  the  chief  part.  In  vivacious  tone  and  beautiful,  compact 
language  Cicero  speaks,  in  Book  I,  of  the  proper  training 
for  an  orator  ;  in  Book  II,  of  the  manner  of  treating  the  sub- 
ject ;  in  Book  III,  of  form  and  delivery.  Bn/fus,  sive  de 
Claris  oratoribus,  also  in  dialogue  form,  is  a  condensed  his- 
tory of  Roman  oratory ;  Orator  ad  M.  Briitiim  describes 
the  ideal  orator ;  partitiones  oratoria  is  a  kind  of  rhetorical 
catechism ;  Topica  is  an  explanation  of  Aristotle's  Topica ; 
de  Optimo  genere  oratorum  treats  of  the  Asiatic  and  the 
Attic  style. 

6.  — Cicero   and   Philosophy   in   Rome. 

The  second  department  in  which  Cicero  worked  in  a 
productive  manner  was  that  of  Philosophy. 

The  first  contact  of  the  Romans  with  Greek  philosophy 
was  no  friendly  one.  Ennius,  it  is  true,  translated  the  writ- 
ings of  the  Greek  rationalist,  Euhemerus ;  but  the  very 
thought  that  danger  threatened  from  this  rationalistic  move- 
ment in  religion,  which  disintegrated  and  destroyed  the 
traditional  world  of  deities,  and  also  the  idea  that  philos- 
ophy,—  which  had,  indeed,  at  that  time,  passed  its  culmi- 
nating point  in  Greece,  and  appeared  in  Rome  essentially 
as  Sophism,  —  stood  in  the  way  of  healthy,  practical  aims 
and  occui)ations,  had  this  result,  that,  so  late  as  the  year 
155,  the  three  philosophers  who  came  to  Rome  as  ambas- 
sadors from  Athens,  Carneades,  the  Academic,  Diogenes, 
the  Stoic,  and  Critolaus,  the  peripatetic,  were,  at  the  insti- 
gation of  Cato,  sent  away  as  quickly  as  possible.  Never- 
theless, the  younger  generation  made  themseKes  ac(iuaintc(I 


THIRD   PERIOD.  65 

with  Greek  philosophy,  and  it  gradually  became  a  reciuire- 
ment  of  education  to  have  heard  Greek  philosophers.  ^ 

Of  the  prevailing  systems,  Stoicism,  with  its  earnest 
morality  and  its  practical  direction,  suited  the  Romans  best, 
because  it  conceded  most  to  positive  religion,  and,  in  gen- 
eral, adapted  itself  to  Roman  institutions.  Beginning  with 
the  younger  Scipio,  the  majority  of  statesmen  and  jurists 
were  Stoics. 

Q.  Sextius  Niger 2  and  his  son  of  the  same  name, 
who  wrote  in  the  Greek  language  in  the  time  of  Caesar  and 
Augustus,  both  followed  a  system  made  up  of  Stoic  and 
Pythagorean  doctrines.  In  connection  with  this,  Epicurean- 
istn,  and  the  New  Academy,  which  cherished  scepticism, 
also  found  adherents ;  the  former,  especiafly,  in  the  poet 
Lucretius.-^  Others  did  not  attach  themselves  to  any  one 
system,  but  took  from  each  what  suited  them.  This  Eclec- 
ticism was  specially  represented  by  Cicero. 

On  the  whole,  the  Romans  remained  entirely  dependent 
upon  the  Greeks  in  philosophy,  without  producing  any  thing 
original.  The  main  point  with  them  was,  always,  not  the 
theoretical,  but  the  practical  side  of  philosophy ;  accord- 
ingly, Cicero  '^  designates  philosophy  as  l)ene  vivendi  dis- 
ciplina. 

According  to  the  custom  of  the  times,  Cicero  pursued  his 
philosophical  studies  at  first  only  as  a  means  for  rhetorical 
education.  He  did  not  write  upon  these  subjects  until 
after  free  political  activity  became  impossible  for  him 
through  Caesar's  supremacy.  On  the  basis  of  an  acquaint- 
ance with  the  Greek  philosophers,  many-sided,  indeed,  but 

^  T.  i.  66,  231;  C.  134;  Mom.  iii.  512,  iv.  667 ;  Ritter :  Hist,  of  Ancient 
Phil.  iv.  75;  Grant's  Ethics  of  Aristotle,  i.  273.  -  C.  334. 

■^  S.  224;  Mom.  iv.  669;   Ritter,  iv.  84.  *  Tusc.  iv.  3,  5. 


66  ROMAN    LITERATURE. 

superficial  and  desultory,  without  capacity  or  need  for  deep 
and  original  speculations,  he  wrote,  in  a  very  short  time,  a 
large  number  of  philosophical  treatises,  which  betray,  only 
too  clearly,  the  haste  of  their  preparation.  In  his  efforts  to 
establish  a  certain  balance  between  theory  and  practice,  he 
shows  the  greatest  preference  for  the  New  Academy  on 
account  of  its  Sophism,  that  being  in  harmony  with  the  aims 
of  the  advocate  and  orator;  also  for  Stoicism,  on  account 
of  its  moral  tone.  On  the  other  hand,  he  is  no  friend  to 
Epicureanism,  which  was  understood  by  the  Romans  as 
really  affording  license  for  sensual  pleasures.  He  is  only 
superficially  acquainted  with  the  older  systems  of  Plato  and 
Aristode.  Cicero's  main  service  consists  in  this,  that  he 
rendered  Greek  philosophy  accessible  to  the  Romans,  and 
an  object  of  lively  and  general  interest,  in  a  terminology  for 
the  most  part  created  by  himself,  and  enriching  the  Latin 
language.^  In  imitation  of  Plato  he  throws  his  writings,  for 
the  most  part,  into  dialogue  form,  but  he  is  far  from  reaching 
the  freshness  and  vivacity  of  his  model. 

The  philosophical  writings  of  Cicero  are  given  below,  in 
chronological  order.^  The  de  repiiblica,  in  6  books,  discusses 
the  best  form  of  government."^  The  dialogue  is  conducted  by 
the  younger  Africanus,  Loelius,  and  others,  and,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  Somnium  Scipionis,  preserved  by  Macrobius, 
and  belonging  to  the  sixth  book,  scarcely  any  thing  is  extant 

1  T.  i.  263,  290;  C.  174;  Ritter,  iv.  loi,  108  et  seqq. ;  Schlegel,  Hist,  of 
Lit.  69;  Reid's  Academica:  Inlrod. 

2  Cf.  de  div.  ii.  i ;  C.  178. 

3  T.  i.  290;  Ritter,  iv.  157;  Mom.  iv.  728.  "  The  Republic  —  a  work  to 
be  named  with  all  honor,  and  indescribably  attractive,  even  in  the  frag- 
ments of  it  which  our  age  has  been  privileged  to  recover  —  concludes  with 
a  vision  of  the  noble-minded  elder  Scipio,  which  is  radiant  with  faith  in  the 
divine  origin  of  the  Kosmos  and  the  immortality  of  the  soul."  Bunsen: 
God  in  History,  ii.  373. 


THIRD    PERIOD.  67 

but  the  first  two  books,  and  these,  even,  not  in  complete 
form.  Most  of  this  was  discovered  in  1822  by  Cardinal 
Angelo  Mai  in  a  Vatican  palimpsest.  The  second  book 
contains  an  essay  on  the  earliest  Roman  history,  especially 
the  constitutional  history.  The  dc  Icgibiis  is  not  complete. 
From  the  probable  number  of  six  books,  only  three  are  extant, 
and  those  in  corrupted  form.^  The  work  contains  an  outline 
of  church  and  state  law,  based  upon  the  principles  of  the 
Stoic  philosophy.  The  paradoxa  is  a  discussion  of  Stoic  prin- 
ciples. The  cousolailo  was  occasioned  by  the  death  of  TuUia ; 
only  fragments  are  extant,  as  is  also  true  of  the  Hortensius, 
a  recommendation  of  the  study  of  philosophy.  De  finihis  bo- 
norum  et  maloriim^  in  5  books,  is  a  resume  of  the  doctrines 
concerning  the  highest  good  and  evil  taught  by  the  Greek 
philosophers,  with  criticisms  on  the  same.  The  academical  in 
4  books,  is  a  survey  of  the  theories  of  knowledge,  with  special 
reference  to  the  Academics ;  Tnsciilance  disputatioiics,'^  in  5 
books,  contains  i\'s  ad  be  ate  vivcndiiin  max  i  me  necessarias, 
and  treats,  (I)  de  contemneuda  ftiorte,  (II)  de  lokrando 
dolore,  (III)  de  a^griiiidine  leiiieuda,  (IV)  de  i-eliquis  animi 
pertuybationilnis,  (V)  ad  beate  vivendum  virtutem  se  ipsa 
esse  coiiteiitaiii;  the  most  interesting  books  are  the  first  and 
the  fifth.  The  Timcsits  is  a  working-over  of  the  dialogue  of 
Plato  of  the  same  name,  —  a  fragment.  De  natura  deorum^ 
in  3  books,  is  a  presentation  of  the  views  concerning  the  Deity, 
and  his  relation  to  the  world,  especially  from  the  standpoint 


1  "  The  De  Lcgibits  is  fraught  with  all  that  was  loftiest  and  best  in  what 
apprehension  of  a  divine  agency  in  human  affairs  yet  lingered  in  the  ancient 
Roman  polity,  culture,  and  manners."     Bunsen. 

2  T.  i.  295  ;  Ritter,  iv.  145  ;  Arnold's  School  Classics  ;  De  Finibus  Bono- 
rum  et  Malorum.  3  'r_  i_  296. 

^  Arnold's  School  Classics ;  Tusculan  Disputations. 
5  T.  i.  298  ;  Bunsen,  ii.  370. 


68  ROMAN    LITERATURE. 

of  the  Epicureans  (I),  the  Stoics  (II),  and  the  Academics 
(III).  I?e  divinatione,  in  2  books,  sets  forth  in  Book  I, 
the  Stoic  doctrine  of  soothsaying,  and,  in  Book  II,  argu- 
ments against  it  that  are  often  humorous.  Cato  maior,  sive 
de  senectutc,  is  a  treatise  in  praise  of  old  age,  put  in  the 
mouth  of  Cato,  written  in  a  popular  vein,  and  especially 
attractive  on  account  of  its  cheerful,  quiet  tone,  as  well  as 
style.  De  fafo,  a  fragment,  was  written  in  opposition  to  the 
Stoic  doctrine  of  fate.  Ltclius,  sive  de  ajnicitia,  is  a  treatise 
in  praise  of  true  friendship,  such  as  rests  upon  a  moral  basis, 
written  in  a  vivid  style,  and  put  into  the  mouth  of  LkHus 
the  younger.  De  officiis,  in  3  books,  contains  a  system  of 
ethics,  sketched  with  a  free  hand  from  the  teachings  of  the 
Stoics.  1  Special  attention  is  given  in  Book  I  to  the  nature  of 
the  honestum,  in  Book  II,  to  the  nature  of  the  utik,  and 
in  Book  III,  to  the  question  of  a  conflict  between  the  two. 
The  writings  de  gloria,  de  virtutihus,  as  well  as  translations 
from  Xenophon  and  Plato,  are  not  extant, 

c  — Cicero's   Letters. 

The  art  of  letter-writing  gained  literary  significance 
through  Cicero.  We  possess  four  collections  of  Cicero's 
letters  :  ^  ad  familiares^^  in  1 6  books  ;  ad  Atticum,  in  1 6 
books  ;  ad  Qiiintum  fratre/n,  in  3  books  ;  ad  Brutum,  va 
2  books.  These  letters,  864  in  number  (including  the  90 
addressed  to  Cicero),  extend  from  the  year  68  to  July  28, 
43.  They  are  not,  however,  evenly  distributed  over  this 
period,  no  letter,  for  example,  being  extant  from  the  year  of 

1  Ritter,  iv.  150 ;  Mer.  ii.  415  ;  T.  i.  302. 

2  Leighton's  Critical  History  of  Cicero's  Letters. 

3  This  title  first  came  into  use  with  the  edition  of  Stephanus,  in  1526, 
while  the  other  title,  ad  diversos,  is  neither  the  original  one  nor  good  Latin. 


THIRD    PERIOD.  69 

Cicero's  consulship ;  also,  the  period  before  the  civil  war  is 
represented  by  a  relatively  smaller  number  than  the  following 
period.  The  publication,  although  contemplated  by  Cicero, 
was  not  arranged  for  by  himself,  as  is  shown  by  the  publica- 
tion of  many  letters,  which  set  his  character  in  an  unfavor- 
able light ;  but  it  took  place  soon  after  his  death,  or,  at  all 
events,  under  the  reign  of  Augustus,  with  the  special  cooper- 
ation of  his  freedman  Tiro,  and  his  friend  Atticus,  who  was 
able  to  give  the  letters  value  in  the  book-market.  So  much 
is  beyond  a  doubt.  Moreover,  in  ancient  times,  many  more 
letters  of  Cicero  were  in  circulation  than  we  now  possess. 

These  letters  are  an  incomparably  valuable  authority  for 
the  history  of  that  time,  so  much  so  that  Nepos  says  of  those 
written  to  Atticus  :  ^  Quae  qui  legat,  non  multum  desideret 
historian!  contextam  illorum  temporum.  They  are,  of  course, 
different  in  their  nature ;  -  some  being  of  a  more  official 
character,  planned  for  publication,  at  least  eventually,  and  so 
more  carefully  considered  and  more  reserved ;  some  —  and 
this  is  especially  true  of  the  letters  to  Atticus  —  serving  only 
the  ends  of  confidential  communication,  and  therefore  reveal- 
ing Cicero's  most  personal  relations  and  thoughts,  joys  and 
sorrows,  sympathies  and  antipathies.  Accordingly,  the  lan- 
guage is  sometimes  formal  and  carefully  chosen,  sometimes 
careless  and  hasty,  only  hinting  at  much,  and  often  obscure  ; 
now  earnest  and  measured,  now  lively  and  witty. -^ 


1  Nep.  Att.  16. 

■-  C.  183 ;  T.  i.  284 ;  Mom.  iv.  721 ;  Watson's  Select  Letters  of  Cicero ; 
Abakan's  Life  and  Letters  of  Cicero,  transl.  by  Merivale ;  Forsyth's  Cicaro, 
i.  72. 

3  "  Notwithstanding  the  manifold  attractions  offered  by  the  other  works 
of  Cicero,  the  man  of  taste,  the  historian,  the  antiquary,  and  the  student  of 
human  nature  would  willingly  resign  them  all  rather  than  be  deprived  of 
the  epistles.     Whether  we  regard  them  as  mere  specimens  of  style,  at  one 


70  ROMAN    LITERATURE. 

The  order  of  the  letters  in  the  collection  ad  Atticum,  is, 
in  the  main,  chronological ;  on  the  other  hand,  the  col- 
lection ad  famillares  is  arranged,  for  the  most  part,  accord- 
ing to  the  persons  addressed ;  thus,  for  example,  Book  VIII 
contains  only  letters  of  M.  Caslius  to  Cicero,  and  Book  XIV, 
only  letters  of  Cicero  to  his  family.  While  the  collection  ad 
Atticum  contains  only  letters  by  Cicero  himself,  90  letters 
from  others  to  Cicero  are  included  in  the  ad  fatniliares, 
especially  from  M.  Caelius,  Caesar,  Pompeius,  Munatius  Plan- 
cus,  Decimus  and  Marcus  Brutus  and  Sulpicius  Rufus.  In 
the  collection  ad  Qiiintiimfratrem,  I,  i,  is  especially  impor- 
tant, a  letter  which  contains  a  complete  list  of  instructions 
concerning  the  official  duties  of  a  Roman  governor.  Re- 
specting the  genuineness  of  the  letters  ad  Brutiim  (at  least, 
those  of  the  second  book),  scholars  are  not  agreed;  it  is 
doubted  by  the  majority. 

In  ancient  times,  Cicero's  letters  were  much  read  and 
quoted;  manuscripts,  however,  were  first  discovered  by 
Petrarch  in  the  fourteenth  century. 

Concerning  Cicero  as  a  poet,  see  p.  40 ;  as  a  historian, 
see  p.  72. 

As  regards  the  judgment  concerning  Cicero  as  a  writer  and 
as  a  man,  an  often  depreciative  hypercriticism  has  come  in  of 


time  reflecting  tlie  conversational  tone  of  familiar  every-day  life  in  its  most 
graceful  form,  at  another  sparkling  with  wit,  at  another  claiming  applause 
as  works  of  art  belonging  to  the  highest  class,  at  another  couched  in  all  the 
stiff  courtesy  of  diplomatic  reserve;  or  whether  we  consider  the  ample 
materials  derived  from  the  purest  and  most  inaccessible  sources,  which  they 
supply  for  a  history  of  the  Roman  constitution  during  its  last  struggles, 
affording  a  deep  insight  into  the  personal  dispositions  and  motives  of  the 
chief  leaders,  — or  finally  seek  and  find  in  them  a  complete  key  to  the 
character  of  Cicero  himself,  unlocking,  as  they  do,  the  most  hidden  secrets 
of  his  thoughts,  and  revealing  the  whole  man  — their  value  is  altogether 
inestimable."    Ramsay. 


THIRD    PERIOD.  71 

late,'  in  place  of  the  earlier  unqualified  admiration.  It  cannot 
be  denied  that  Cicero  can  be  charged  with  great  deficiencies 
and  weaknesses ;  especially  does  he  lack  independence  and 
firmness  in  political  life  ;  he  allows  himself  to  be  swayed  by 
fortunate  and  unfortunate  circumstances  ;  is  dependent  upon 
the  moment,  and  capricious ;  even  in  the  literary  field, 
where  his  chief  importance  lies,  he  betrays  a  straining  after 
effect  in  his  orations,  and  haste  and  superficiality  in  his 
philosophical  writings. 

But  in  spite  of  all  this,  Cicero  is  and  will  remain  a  remark- 
able character  in  history,  and  Varro's  verdict  will  have  to  be 
accepted  as  true  :  Qua  maior  pars  vitse  atque  ingenii  stetit, 
ea  iudicandum  de  homine  est.- 

Cicero,  although  living  in  an  extremely  corrupt  period, 
was  pure  in  his  manner  of  life,  unselfish  and  incorruptible  ; 
a  sincere  patriot,  bending  his  efforts  toward  the  good,  the 
beautiful,  and  the  true  ;  gentle  toward  his  own  family,  obliging 
to  his  friends,  and  especially  ready  to  advance  the  interests 
of  younger  men  ;  humane  in  the  treatment  of  his  slaves  ;  a 
man  of  feeling  and  sentiment,  possessed  of  extraordinary 
intellectual  capacities,  a  rare  gift  of  speech,  a  strong  imagi- 
nation, and  an  abundance  of  esprit  and  wit.  His  activity  in 
the  field  of  literature  marks  an  advance  in  the  development 
of  universal  culture.  For  the  Roman  world  he  was  a  price- 
less mediator  of  the  elements  of  Greek  culture.  He  raised 
Latin  language  to  the  highest  plane  of  development  in  form  ; 
and  although  he  was  not  a  complete  Roman  character,  still 
he  furthered  the  interests  of  general  culture  in  many  direc- 
tions. 


1  Especially  through  Drumann  and  Mommsen. 

2  Forsyth's  Cicero,  ii.  319 ;  T.  i.  261 ;  Ritter,  iv.  99. 


72  ROMAN   LITERATURE. 


d.  —  History. 


Writers  of  history  in  this  period  were  numerous,  and, 
as  a  result  of  the  growing  acquaintance  with  Greek  models, 
the  perfecting  of  the  Latin  language,  the  increasing  at- 
tention paid  to  rhetorical  finish,  and  the  growing  interest 
in  higher  culture  in  general,  there  arose  an  artistic  and 
methodical  treatment  of  history,  which,  confining  itself,  on 
the  one  hand,  to  the  history  of  the  times,  or  to  particular 
events,  or  embracing,  on  the  other,  the  entire  field  of  Roman 
history  and  even  universal  history,  proceeded  on  a  definite 
plan,  and  employed  a  method  of  presentation,  well  thought 
out  and  suited  to  the  subject-matter.  The  historical  writers 
were  chiefly  men  who  lived  in  the  midst  of  political  activity, 
or,  at  least,  belonged  to  a  particular  party,  and  hence  his- 
torical works  represented,  in  some  degree,  the  party  stand- 
point ;  memoirs  were  also  frequently  written.  While,  in  the 
time  of  the  Republic,  when  there  was  freedom  of  speech, 
historians  turned  their  attention  chiefly  to  the  present  or 
the  immediate  past,  the  later  historians  saw  themselves,  on 
account  of  the  limitations  introduced  by  the  empire,  obliged 
to  seek  out  more  remote  subjects.' 

In  the  first  half  of  this  period,  the  writers  were  :  T.  Pom- 
ponius  Atticus,-  who  compiled  an  accurate  tabular  view 
of  the  entire  field  of  Roman  history,  entitled  (liber)  Ati- 
nalis,  and  who  wrote  in  a  similar  way  concerning  several 
aristocratic  families;  M.  Tullius  Cicero,  who  wrote  a 
detailed  account  of  his  consulship,  which  has  not  been  pre- 
served ;  and  Q.  iElius  Tubero,  who  treated  of  Roman 
history  up  to  bis  own  time. 

Far  more  important,  liowever,  are  the  names  that  follow. 

1  Ritter,  iv.  9 ;  T.  i.  230 ;  Mom.  iv.  719.  2  x.  i.  159. 


THIRD    PERIOD.  73 

C.  lulius  Caesar,  born  July  12,  100  b.c,  was  a  nephew 
of  Marius,  through  whose  influence  he  became  flamen  dialis 
in  87  ;  in  8;^,  he  married  the  daughter  of  Cinna,  and  on 
that  account  was  reluctantly  spared  by  Sulla ;  80-78,  he 
was  in  Asia ;  in  78,  accuser  of  the  Optimates  ;  in  76,  with 
Molo  in  Rhodes;  in  68,  qusestor  in  Spain;  in  65,  asdile  ; 
in  63,  pontifex  maximus  ;  in  62,  praetor ;  in  61,  governor  in 
Further  Spain  ;  in  60,  triumvir  with  Pompey  and  Crassus  ;  in 
59,  consul ;  58-50,  proconsul  in  Gaul.  He  began,  in  49,  the 
civil  war  against  Pompey  and  the  government  of  the  Opti- 
mates ;  48-45,  gained  the  supreme  power  by  defeating  Pom- 
pey at  Pharsalus,  and  the  Pompeian  party  in  Africa  and 
Spain;  was  assassinated  March  15,  44. 

In  addition  to  his  unusual  versatility,  Caesar  had  also  the 
gift  of  oratory  in  uncommon  measure.  As  an  orator,  he  was 
placed  by  the  ancients  by  the  side  of  Cicero,  at  least  as 
regards  talent.'  He  treated  the  language  itself  in  two  books 
entitled  t/e  analogia.  In  his  youth  he  also  wrote  verse. 
Against  Cato  he  wrote  two  anticatones.  A  work  on  astron- 
omy is  also  ascribed  to  him. 

Most  important  of  all,  however,  are  his  Commefitarii  de 
bello  Gallico  and  dc  bello  civilir  The  former  work  contains, 
in  7  books,  the  exploits  of  Caesar  in  Gaul,  from  58  to  52  : 
Book  I,  the  victory  over  the  Helvetians  and  Ariovistus  in 
the  year  58  ;  II,  the  conquest  of  the  northern  and  north- 
western peoples  of  Gaul  in  57;  III,  the  maritime  war 
against  the  Veneti,  and  the  battles  with  the  Aquitani, 
Menapii,  and  Morini  in  56 ;  IV,  the  conquest  of  the 
Tencteri  and  Usipetes,  the  first  passage  of  the  Rhine,  and 
the  first  expedition  to  Britannia  in  55  ;  V,  the  second 
expedition  to  Britannia,  the  destruction  of  fifteen   cohorts 

1  T.  i.  314  ;  C.  196.  2  c.  188  ;  T.  i.  317  ;   Mom.  iv.  720. 


74  ROMAN   LITERATURE. 

by  the  Eburones  in  54  ;  VI,  the  restoration  of  peace  in  the 
north,  the  second  crossing  of  the  Rhine,  and  the  annihi- 
lation of  the  Eburones  in  53  ;  VII,  the  conflicts  with  Ver- 
cingetorix,  and  the  final  subjugation  of  Gaul  in  52. 

There  is  a  geographical  excursus  in  Book  IV  (1-3),  con- 
cerning the  Suevi ;  in  V  (12-14),  concerning  Britannia,  and 
in  VI  (11-28),  concerning  Gallia. 

The  Commentarii  de  Iwllo  civili  contain :  Book  I,  the 
breaking  out  of  the  war,  the  expulsion  of  Pompey  from 
Italy,  and  the  hostilities  in  Spain  \  II,  the  contests  about 
Massilia,  Caesar's  appointment  as  Dictator,  and  Curio's  defeat 
in  Africa  ;  III,  the  further  progress  of  the  war  to  the  begin- 
ning of  the  Alexandrian  War. 

In  these  writings  the  lines  of  Cesar's  character  are  most 
distinctly  seen,  —  clearness  of  understanding,  keenness  of 
judgment,  sureness  of  perception,  quickness  of  combination, 
a  calm  mastery  of  things  in  the  midst  of  the  greatest  external 
confusion,  facility,  or  rather  apparendy  an  entire  absence  of 
labor,  in  his  work  ;  on  the  other  hand,  also,  a  soberness  of 
mind,  nay,  even  a  coldness  of  temperament,  which  grasps 
and  desires  only  that  which  is  real  and  useful,  and  that  spe- 
cifically Roman  way  of  looking  at  things,  which  accords  to 
the  foreigner  no  claim  to  an  independent  existence.  In 
respect  to  style,  even  the  ancients  praised  the  elegance, 
ease,  simplicity,  and  clearness  of  Caesar's  Commentaries. ^ 
But  in  just  this  apparent  objectivity  lies  a  great  art ;  for 
these  works  are,  in  reality,  written  from  motives  of  personal 
interest,  being  intended  to  justify  partly  liis  treatment  of  the 
Gauls,  and  partly  his   appearance  on  the   scene  of  action 


1  Cic.  Brut.  75,  262:  valde  probandi,  nudi  enim  sunt,  recti  et  venusti, 
omni  ornatu  orationis  velut  veste  detracta.  Schlegel :  Hist,  of  Lit.  70 ;  Mer. 
ii.  392 ;  Froude's  Caesar,  544. 


THIRD    PERIOD.  75 

after  the  year  50.  This  purpose  pervades  the  whole,  but  it 
may  be  traced  more  clearly  in  his  exposition  of  the  causes 
which  drive  him  irresistibly  onward,  and  of  the  motives 
which  ever  seem  to  him  right  and  imperative,  than  in  his 
narration  of  the  events  themselves,  which  (more  indeed  in 
the  bello  Gallico  than  in  the  generally  less  carefully  written 
hello  civili)  is,  perhaps,  on  the  whole,  in  accordance  with  truth. 

Without  doubt,  the  Commentarii  de  bello  Gallico  were 
written  in  the  years  52  and  51,  and  published  in  51  ;  the 
Commentarii  de  bello  civili  were  composed,  but  not  pub- 
lished, in  the  last  year  of  his  life. 

Continuations  of  these  works  are  :  dc  bello  Galileo  liber 
VIII,  and  helium  Alexandrinum,  both  without  doubt  written, 
and  indeed  skilfully,  by  Caesar's  legate,  A.  Hirtius  ;  also 
the  far  inferior  writings  concerning  the  helium  Africamcm  and 
helium  Hispanieuse  by  unknown  authors  of  little  cultivation.' 

Cornelius  Nepos,  born  about  94  b.c,  in  Upper  Italy, 
lived  for  the  most  part  in  Rome,  without  office,  on  friendly 
terms  witli  Catullus,  Cicero,  and  especially  Atticus,  and  died 
about  30.  He  was  the  author  of  several  works  that  ha\e  not 
been  preserved  :  Chfonicon,  Exempla,  Vita  Catouis  and 
Cieeronis,  particularly,  however,  of  the  work  de  viris  illus/ri- 
hus,  which  treated,  in  at  least  16  books,  of  a  great  number  of 
statesmen,  generals,  poets,  etc.,  and  in  such  a  manner  that 
Greeks,  Romans,  and  barbarians  stood  in  contrast  with  each 
other.  Of  this  work,  the  book  entitled  de  exeelleiitihus  duel- 
bus  extern  rum  gentium  is  presen'ed.  It  consists  of  19  bi- 
ographies of  Greek  generals,  arranged  mainly  in  chronological 
order,  together  with  the  biography  of  the  Persian  Datames, 
of  the  Carthaginians  Hamilcar  and  Hannibal,  and  of  Cato 
Maior  and  Atticus.- 

1  T.  i.  320;  C.  195.  2  c_  1^8;  T.  i.  323;  Mom.  iv.  719. 


76  ROMAN   LITERATURE. 

Nepos  followed,  as  it  seems,  the  purpose,  on  the  one  hand, 
of  extending  historical  knowedge  among  the  public  at  large, 
and,  on  the  other,  of  exercising  a  moral  influence  upon 
the  same.  Hence,  his  language  is  simple  and  popular ;  he 
manifests  sincere  rejoicing  at  the  good  and  abhorrence  of 
the  evil  ;  he  strives  to  be  impartial  even  to  a  Hannibal,  but 
he  falls  into  the  error  of  almost  always  seeing  an  ideal  char- 
acter in  the  hero  of  wliom  he  happens  to  be  treating.  In 
general,  there  is  a  lack  of  independent  and  comprehensive 
historical  views ;  the  material  is  often  selected  without  judg- 
ment ;  instead  of  what  is  really  important,  often  details  of  the 
nature  of  anecdotes  are  made  prominent,  and  there  appear  in 
addition  not  a  few  obscure  and  erroneous  statements,  which 
testify  to  his  haste  in  consulting  his  authorities.'  These 
failings,  together  with  the  fact  that  the  style  is  monotonous 
and  impure,  have  led  to  the  supposition  that  a  certain  ..^^mil- 
ius  Probus,  in  the  time  of  Theodosius,  worked  over  the  exist- 
ing collection  after  the  original  of  Nepos.  Sufficient  reasons 
for  the  acceptation  of  this  theory  are  not  at  hand.  For  the 
same  reason  the  question  whether  Nepos  is  adapted  to  use 
in  the  schools  has  been  answered  by  many  in  the  negative. 

C.  Sallustius  Crispus  was  born  in  86  b.c.  in  the  Sabine 
town  of  Amiternum.  In  his  youth  he  led  a  gay  life  at  Rome ; 
became  quaestor  about  the  year  59;  in  52  tribune  of  the 
people  ;  was  an  o])ponent  of  Cicero  and  Pompey,  and  on  this 
account  (ostensibly,  however,  on  account  of  his  bad  life)  was 
expelled  from  the  senate  in  50,  but  was  restored  by  Csesar, 
made  prretor,  and,  in  46,  sent  as  proconsul  to  Africa,  where 
he  amassed  great  wealth.-  After  Caesar's  assassination,  he 
devoted  himself  entirely  to  literary  pursuits,  and  died  in  35. 


1  Thucydides,  Xenophon,  Theopompus,  and  others. 

2  Horti  Sallustiani  at  Rome. 


THIRD    PERIOD.  77 

Sallust  wrote  three  works  :  Catilina,  Bellum  lugiirthinum, 
and  Histories} 

1.  Catilina,  or  de  coniiiratione  Cati/ince  liber,  gives  an 
account  of  the  conspiracy  of  Catiline  in  the  years  6t,  and 
62,  in  connection  with  which  the  moral  corruption,  espe- 
cially of  the  nobility,  is  disclosed  for  an  ulterior  purpose. 
The  services  of  Cicero,  Sallust's  former  opponent,  are  not 
depreciated  ;  also,  Cato  is  treated  without  bias,  and  Caesar 
with  decided  partiality. 

Of  special  interest  are  the  orations  of  Caesar  and  Cato 
(c.  51-54)  on  the  action  of  the  senate  concerning  the 
punishment  of  the  arrested  conspirators,  and  the  character- 
ization of  both  men.  The  work  was  probably  published  in 
the  year  42. 

2.  Bellum  lugurihinum  gives  an  account  of  the  war  against 
the  Numidian  king  Jugurtha  (111-106),  in  which  the 
stress  falls  upon  the  portrayal  of  the  corrupt  condition  of 
affairs  at  Rome  under  the  misrule  of  the  oligarchy,  which 
was  exposed  especially  in  the  orations  of  the  tribune  of 
the  people,  C.  Memmius  (c.  31),  and  of  C.  Marius  (c.  85). 

At  the  close  of  the  war,  and  over  against  the  terror 
Cimhricus,  Marius  appears  as  the  support  of  the  Roman 
State. 

3.  His  to  rice-  embraces  the  period  from  78  to  67.  Only 
fragments  remain  ;  in  particular,  a  few  orations,  which  bear 
witness  to  a  riper  historical  skill  than  those  found  in  the 
Catilina  and  the  Jugurtha. 

Sallust  is  called  by  Martial^ /r/w/^i-  Romana  in  historia, 
and  rightly  so,  considering  that  he  was  the  first  to  treat 
historical  writing  as  an  art,  with  a  conscious  method  in 
the   choice   of   subject   and   form.     His   chief  model   was 

1  C.  200 ;  T.  i.  344.  2  c_  202.  3  Mar.  xiv.  191. 


7^  ROMAN    LITERATURE. 

Thucydides.  Although  confining  himself  essentially  to 
the  history  of  his  time,  Sallust  yet  shows  a  comprehensive 
survey  of  general  Roman  liistory,  and  a  correct  insight 
into  the  epochs  of  internal  development  in  government, 
culture,  and  morals. i  The  existing  corruption  impels  him 
to  a  moral  pathos,  which,  in  view  of  his  manner  of  life  in 
earlier  years,  some  have  been  disposed  to  consider  insincere 
and  affected ;  but  it  has  not  been  sufificiently  borne  in  mind 
that  a  change  in  his  moral  principles  and  views  was  possible 
in  later  years. 

Although  personally  belonging  to  the  democratic  party,  or, 
as  it  might  be  called,  the  imperial  party  (that  of  Csesar), 
and  endeavoring  to  show  the  inherent  weakness  of  the 
republican  government,  still,  he  is  unpartisan  and  just  in  his 
judgment  even  of  aristocratic  celebrities,  such  as  Metellus, 
Cato,  and  even  Sulla,  and  not  blind  to  the  real  character 
of  such  a  demagogue  as  Marius.  His  narrative,  however, 
is  incomplete,  and  often  inaccurate,  especially  in  chrono- 
logical matters.  His  main  strength  lies  in  the  delineation 
of  character  and  in  psychological  arrangement.  The  signifi- 
cance of  prominent  individuals  in  the  progress  of  history  is 
sharply  l)rought  out.- 

Sallust's  language  is  often  artificially  antiquated,  studied, 
and  obscure  ;  but  it  is  rich  in  thought,  forcible  and  apt  in 
characterization,  plastic  in  portrayal  and  description,  often 
dramatic  in  its  vivacity  and  realism.^  Some  of  the  writings 
ascribed  to  Sallust  are  not  genuine,  as,  for  example,  two 
epistulce  ad  Ccesarem,  invectiva  in  Ciccroncm,  and  others. 

In  the  Augustan  Period,  historians  stand  in  the  first  rank 
among   prose    writers.'*      Among    others,    Augustus    and 

1  Cf.  especially  Cat.  6-13;    lug.  41,  seq;  T.  i.  348. 

2  Cf.  especially  Cat.  53.  3  C.  204.  *  T.  i.  386. 


THIRD    PERIOD.  79 

his  friend  M.  Vipsanius  Agrippa  treated  of  their  own 
time  ;  the  former  in  1 3  books,  de  vita  sua,  and  an  index 
rerum  a  se  gestarum,  the  greater  part  of  which  was  dis- 
covered in  a  copy  in  the  temple  of  Augustus  at  Ancyra  in 
Galatia,  —  the  so-called  iiioniiinentuin  AiuyraniDii ;  Agrippa, 
in  an  autobiography  and  in  memoirs}  Also,  M.  Valerius 
Messala  wrote  memoirs,  perhaps  in  the  Greek  language. 

Asinius  Pollio-  (75  B.C.-5  a.d)  wrote  from  a  republican 
standpoint-'  a  History  of  the  Civil  Wars  beginning  with  the 
year  60  B.C.  This  work  was  not  completed  and  has  not 
been  preserved. 

By  far  the  most  prominent  historian  of  the  Augustan 
Period  is,  however,  T.  Livius,^  born  at  Patavium  (Padua), 
59  B.C.,  without  doubt  from  an  illustrious  family.  He  was 
trained  in  philosophy  and  rhetoric  at  Rome  ;  soon  took  up 
his  permanent  residence  there,  where  he  came  into  intimate 
relations  with  Augustus  ;  remained  without  office  or  political 
activity,  and  died  i  7  a.d.  in  his  native  city,  where  a  mauso- 
leum was  raised  to  him  in  1548. 

Besides  rhetorical  and  j)hilosophical  writings  (dia/ogi), 
which  have  not  come  down  to  us,  he  wrote  a  history  of 
Rome,  from  yEneas  to  at  least  9  b.c,  in  142  books,^  entitled 
ad  urbe  condita  libri.  Of  these  have  been  preserved  Books 
I-X  and  XXI-XLV,  which  embrace  the  period  754-293 
and  218-167.  The  loss  of  the  other  books  is  poorly  sup- 
plied by  the  pcriochcc  or  epitoiJice. 

Livy's  purpose  was,*^  in  contrast  to  the  unsatisfying  and 
degenerate  present,  to  call  to  life  again  the  better  past,  which 

1  T.  i.  393.  2  T.  i.  398.  3  Cf.  Hor.  Od.  ii.  i. 

■4  T.  i.  492  ;  C.  322  ;   Mer.  iv.  436  ;  Seeley's  Livy  :  Introd. 

5  Probably  designed  to  reach  the  number  of  150,  to  the  death  of 
Augustus. 

6  Cf.  prcefatio. 


8o  ROMAN    LITERATURE. 

appeared  to  him  in  an  ideal  light,  and,  in  his  history,  to  hold 
before  his  contemporaries  a  picture  of  morality.^ 

For  this  Livy  possessed  the  necessary  qualities,  —  some  of 
them,  indeed,  in  rich  measure,  —  a  vivid  imagination,  moral 
sensitiveness,  a  warm  heart,  love  of  the  truth,  a  genuine  sym- 
pathy for  the  good  and  noble,  and  a  natural  oratorical  power, 
cultivated  in  the  schools  of  rhetoric. 

The  ancients  gave  prominence  to  the  following  qualities 
as  belonging  to  him :  Mira  facundia,  jucunditas,  candor, 
lactea  ubertas.^  Livius  candidissimus  omnium  magnorum 
ingeniorum  sestimator.^  In  religious  matters  he  holds 
fast  to  the  traditional  and  positive  as  the  foundation  of 
the  Roman  state.  He  attaches  value  to  prodigies  and 
ceremonies,  although  he  sometimes  gives  utterance  to  fatal- 
istic views.  In  political  matters  he  is  an  admirer  of  the 
Republic  and  of  the  rule  of  the  Optimates,^  yet  probably 
without  any  deep,  settled  conviction,  and,  at  all  events, 
without  any  dangerous  inclination  to  oppose  the  Empire. 
The  weakest  side  of  his  work  is  his  account  of  the  internal 
development  of  the  Roman  State.^  Concerning  the  eariier 
Roman  government,  especially  the  true  relation  of  things 
during  the  conflict  between  Patricians  and  Plebeians,  and 
also  concerning  military  affairs,  he  has  often  incorrect,  and 
even  radically  false,  views  ;  also,  he  does  not  trouble  him- 
self carefully  to  study  the  existing  records  and  monuments  ; 
he  brings,  rather,  the  externals  of  history,  especially  wars, 
into  the  foreground. 

1  See,  especially,  praef.  §  lo :  the  present  offers  no  hope,  and  cannot  be 
improved,  —  nee  vitia  nostra  nee  remedia  pati  possumus;  history  presents 
enough  examples  both  of  those  things  which  should  be  done,  and  of  those 
which  should  be  left  undone. 

2  Quint.  Inst.  Orat.  xi.  loi.  3  Sen.  Suas.  vi.  21,  seq. 
*  Hence  called  by  Augustus,  Pompeianus,  Tac.  Ann.  iv.  34. 

6  C.  327. 


THIRD    PERIOD.  8 1 

Among  the  Roman  annalists  he  makes  special  use  of  the 
later  ones ;  among  others,  of  Licinius  Macer  and  Valerius 
Antias,  whose  untrustvvorthiness  he  discovers  only  in  the  prog- 
ress of  his  work.  He  employs  them  often  without  discrimina- 
tion, consistency,  or  independent  judgment.  From  the  third 
decade  on,  he  makes  use,  for  the  most  part,  of  Polybius, 
but  without  the  requisite  care ;  on  which  account,  mistakes, 
repetitions,  and  contradictions  not  unfrequently  occur.  The 
arrangement  of  events  is,  in  the  main,  the  traditional  annal- 
istic  one.' 

These  failings,  however,  are  gladly  forgotten  in  view  of 
his  love  for  the  truth,  only  now  and  then  repressed  by 
patriotism  and  tradition,  —  as,  for  example,  in  his  treatment 
of  Hannibal ;  —  in  view  of  his  generous,  humane  temper  of 
mind,  the  grace,  clearness,  and  ease  of  his  presentation,^ 
the  charming  poetic  coloring  with  which  he  invests  par- 
ticularly the  oldest  history,  and  the  brilliant  rhetoric  which 
he  displays  in  the  numerous  speeches."^ 

Livy's  talents  found,  even  in  his  lifetime,  great  recogni- 
tion,'* though  Asinius  PoUio  thought  he  discovered  a  certain 
provincial  tone  (Patavinitas),  the  nature  of  which  is,  for  us, 
at  least,  difficult  to  discover. 

As  early  as  500  a.d.,  the  work  was  divided  into  decades, 
of  which  the  third,  containing  the  Second  Punic  War,  —  the 
finest  part  of  the  work,  —  was  most  frequently  read  and 
copied.^ 

1  C.  325. 

2  Quintilian  compares  him,  in  this  respect,  to  Herodotus. 

3  T.  i.  497 ;  C.  329 ;  Mer.  iv.  438  ;  Schlegel :  Hist,  of  Lit.  74. 

*  According  to  Pliny,  Epp.  ii.  3,  a  man  made  a  journey  from  Gades  to 
Rome  for  the  express  purpose  of  seeing  Livy, 

5  In  the  seventeenth  century,  the  philologist,  J.  Freinsheim,  born  at  Ulm, 
and  Professor  at  Upsala  and  Heidelberg,  attempted  to  supply  the  missing 
books  in  Livy's  style. 


82  ROMAN    LIIERAIURE. 

Pompeius  Trogus,  a  contemporary  of  Livy,  wrote  his- 
tories philippics  in  44  books,  a  universal  history  from  Ninus 
down  to  his  own  time,  in  which  special  regard  was  paid  to 
Macedonia  and  the  period  of  Alexander's  successors,  while 
Roman  history  was  treated  with  comparative  neglect.  The 
work  is  extant  only  in  the  brief,  dry  compendium  made  by 
lustinus,  probably  about  the  year  150  a.d.  The  epitome, 
which  professedly  "  omitted  what  was  neither  entertaining 
nor  necessary,"  was  prepared  with  little  judgment. 

The  acta  senatus^  and  the  acta  populi-  (Romani) 
constituted  an  historical  authority.  The  former  were  pro- 
tocols of  the  senate,  which,  according  to  a  regulation  of 
Caesar,  were,  after  the  year  59,  recorded  and  pubhshed,  but 
which,  afterwards,  according  to  an  edict  of  Augustus,  were 
only  recorded  ;  the  latter,'^  a  daily  record  which  contained  all 
sorts  of  official  and  private  news,  and  was  kept  up  through 
the  entire  period  of  the  emperors,  but  of  which  no  genuine 
remains  are  preserved.  Both  of  these  acta  were  placed  for 
safe  keeping  in  the  Tabularium,  and  could  there  be  con- 
sulted for  literary  purposes. 

e.  — Special    Sciences. 

M.  Terentius  Varro^  was  active  partly  in  the  depart- 
ment of  history,  and  partly  in  different  fields  of  special 
science.  He  was  born  in  116  b.c.  at  Reate  in  Sabinum  ; 
was  a  follower  of  Pompey,  for  whom  he  fought  unsuccess- 
fully in  Spain  in  the  year  49  ;  was  pardoned  by  Caesar,  and 
appointed  superintendent  of  the  public  library  ;  was  pro- 
scribed in  43,  but  made  his  escape,  and  died  in  the  year 
27.     He  was  the  most  learned  man  and  the  most  prolific 


1  h\%,o  q.2\\gA  piiblica,  ox  diur7ia.  ^  Mer.iv.  330. 

2  T.  i.  379;  Mom.  iv.  722.  ^  T.  i.  236;  C  142. 


THIRD   PERIOD.  83 

author  of  ancient  Rome,  a  polyhistor  in  the  highest  sense. 
His  knowledge  and  his  writings  embraced  almost  all  con- 
ceivable subjects.  The  entire  number  of  his  writings 
amounted  to  over  70  works,  in  more  than  600  volumes. 
Among  his  poetical  productions,  the  Satura  MeuippecR 
(see  p.  45)  are  worthy  of  special  mention.  Of  his  prose 
works,^  the  most  important  are  :  Libri  IX  disciplinanim, 
an  encyclopaedia  of  the  sciences,  especially  of  the  later 
so-called  seven  liberal  arts,  the  trivium  {grammar,  dialectics, 
and  rhetoric),  and  the  quadrivium  {arithmetic,  geometry, 
astronomy,  and  music),  and,  besides  these,  medicine  and 
architecture  ;  the  imagines,  or  hebdomades,  in  15  books,  con- 
taining portraits  of  celebrated  Greeks  and  Romans,  with 
short  metrical  explanations.  Roman  antiquities  were  treated 
in  the  libri  XLI  antiquitatitm,  of  which  t-es  hi/mance  em- 
braced 25  books,  and  res  divince  16;  and  in  a  series  of 
monographs,  as,  for  example,  de  geiite  populi  Romani,  de 
vita  populi  Romani,  (Ztia{=  cutuj),  explanations  of  Ro- 
man customs,  etc.  The  history  of  literature  was  represented 
by  numerous  writings  ha\-ing  special  reference  to  the  tech- 
nique of  the  drama;  law,  by  libri  X  de  jure  civili ;  phi- 
lology, by  libri  XXV  de  lingua  Z«//«(7,'^  of  which  Books  V-X 
are  preserved,  though  incomplete  and  corrupt, — a  collection 
of  material  which  he  had  not  worked  over  into  proper  shape ; 
agriculture,  by  libri  III  re  rum  rusticarum,  almost  entirely 
preserved,  and  treating  of  tillage,  cattle-raising,  poultry- 
breeding,  and  fish-culture. 

In  all  these  works  the  subject-matter  possesses  for  Varro 
the  chief  interest,  while  little  value  is  attached  to  the  form. 
Hence  the  language  is  uneven  and  frequently  mixed  with 
plebeian  and  archaic  elements.     Not  unfrequently,  however, 

1  T.  i.  241 ;  C.  146.  2  T.  i.  247  ;  C.  151 ;   Mom.  iv.  730. 


g^  ROMAN    LITERATURE. 

a  quaint  humor  appears.  His  standpoint  is  specifically  Ro- 
man, yet  he  does  not  ignore  Greek  culture.  On  account 
of  the  abundant  material  which  his  works  contained,  Varro 
was  much  used  by  later  writers,  especially  by  Augustine, 
and  thus  many  separate  passages  have  been  preserved. 

Other  writers  on  special  sciences  follow.  In  Law,  S. 
Sulpicius  Rufus  ^  and  A.  Ofilius  were  important.  The 
former  was  born  105  B.C.,  was  consul  in  51,  and  died  in  43  ; 
he  was  a  friend  of  Cicero,  and  the  most  learned  jurist  of  his 
time,  and  also  the  author  of  numerous  works  ;  Ofilius,  his 
pupil,  was  also  a  very  prolific  writer,  and  held  in  high  esteem, 
especially  by  Casar.  C.  Trebatius  Testa,  born  about 
90,  was  a  high  legal  authority  in  Augustus'  time.  His  pupil 
was  M.  Antistius  Labeo-  (60  b.c.-ii  a.d.),  who,  in  re- 
spect to  thorough  and  comprehensive  learning,  as  well  as 
independence  of  character  and  political  attitude,  stood  far 
above  his  rival,  C.  Ateius  Capito  (34  B.C.-21  a.d.),  who 
courted  the  favor  of  Augustus,  and  was  preferred  by  him. 
Both  were  copious  writers. 

Archaeology  and  Philology  were  represented  (besides 
by  Varro)  by  P.  Nigidius  Figulus=^  (d.  45  B.C.),  who 
wrote  commenfarii  gf-aiin/iafici,  in  30  books,  as  well  as  works 
on  theology  and  natural  science ;  also  by  M.  Verrius 
Flaccus,^  a  freedman,  whom  Augustus  chose  as  teacher  for 
his  grand-children,  and  who  died  under  Tiberius.  He  wrote 
fasH,  and  a  very  learned  antiquarian  work,  de  verborutn  signi- 
ficatu,  of  which,  probably  in  the  middle  of  the  second  cen- 
tury, A.D.,  Pompeius  Festus  made  an  epitome,  which  has 
been  in  part  preserved,  from  which,  in  turn,  a  priest  named 
Paulus,  living  under  Charlemagne,  made  excerpts.  In  spite 
of  the  corrupt  form  in  which  the  epitomists  have  left  this 

1  T.  i.  257;  C.  157.  ^  T.  i.  327;  C.  158;  Mom.  iv.  669. 

2  T.  i.  387,  526.  ■*  T.  i.  511 ;  C.  333. 


THIRD    PERIOD.  85 

work,  the  extant  portions  are  of  value  as  a  repository  of 
facts.  lulius  Hyginus,!  a  freedman  of  Augustus,  and 
director  of  the  Palatine  Library,  wrote  numerous  works  on 
geography,  history,  agriculture,  etc.  ;  also  commentaries 
on  Virgi/.  His  277  Fables,  a  hand-book  of  Mythology,  the 
present  form  of  which  does  not,  however,  go  back  to 
Hyginus,  and  4  books  de  astronomia,  are,  in  great  part, 
preserved. 

In  Architecture,  we  possess  10  Books  de  architectura, 
by  the  architect  Vitruvius  Pollio."  Books  I-VII  treat 
,of  buildings,  VIII,  of  aqueducts,  IX,  of  instruments  for 
measuring  time,  X,  of  machines.  The  work  is  dedicated 
to  Augustus,  and  is  rich  and  comprehensive .  in  its  con- 
tents, but  is  written  in  an  uneven  and  often  awkward 
style. 

For  Geography, — besides  the  already-mentioned  writ- 
ings of  Varro  and  Hyginus,  and  exclusive  of  notes  of  travel, 
and  occasional  remarks  in  historical  and  other  works,  —  the 
survey  of  the  Roman  Empire  was  important,  which  was 
set  on  foot  by  Caesar,  and  completed  under  Augustus  in  19 
B.C.  In  this  undertaking  Agrippa  ^  took  an  active  part,  by 
drawing  up  lists  of  mountains,  bodies  of  water,  and  bounda- 
ries of  places,  and  also  by  sketching  a  map  of  the  world ; 
for  which  reason,  after  his  death,  a  tablet  representing  the 
world,  and  based  upon  this  sketch,  was  placed  by  Augustus 
in  the  colonnade  which  bore  Agrippa's  name. 

1  T.  i  515.  -  T.  i.  522;  C.  331.  3  T.  i.  217;  Mer.  iv,  323. 


FOURTH    PERIOD. 

The  Silver  Age  of  Roman  Literature,  14-117  a.d.,  from 
Tiberius  to  the  Death  of  Trajan. 

THE  Ciceronian  and  Augustan  Periods  left  to  the 
following  generations  an  unusually  rich  literary  inher- 
itance, but  the  rule  of  tlie  imperial  despots  from  Tiberius 
to  Domitian  (interrupted  only  by  the  brief  reigns  of  Ves- 
pasian and  Titus,  70-81),  that  is,  almost  the  whole  of  the 
first  century  after  Christ,  was  extremely  unfavorable  for  in- 
creasing this  inheritance,  or  for  making  it  profitable  and  fruit- 
ful. The  persistent  suppression  of  freedom  in  thought,  word, 
and  deed ;  the  closing  up  of  those  avenues  of  activity  in 
which  the  Roman  mind  had  shown  an  original  and  creative 
power,  namely,  oratory  and  history ;  the  complete  cessa- 
tion of  political  life,  resulted  either  in  resignation  and  apathy, 
or  in  stifled  animosity  and  secret  opposition,  or  in  servile 
fawning  and  flattery.^  Prevented  from  speaking  in  a  simple, 
natural,  and  straightforward  manner,  the  writers  of  this 
period  sought  to  supply  the  want,  of  which  they  were  only 
too  deeply  conscious,  by  a  pathos  incommensurate  with  the 
subject,  by  a  pretentious,  but  often  empty,  play  with  figures 
of  speech  and  sententious  phrases,  by  a  sort  of  significant 
obscurity  and  conciseness,  and  by  a  forced  striving  after 
contrast  and  striking  effects.  Just  as  in  life,  so  in  speaking 
and  Avriting,  there  was  a  lack  of  naturalness  and  frankness ; 


1  T.  ii.  2;  C.  341;  Mer.  V.  261;  Schlegel :  Hist,  of  Lit.  75. 

86 


FOURTH    PERIOD.  87 

men  were  conscious  of  being  watched  everywliere  and  at  all 
times,  and  thus  were  obliged  to  be  watchful  in  return ; 
since  their  true  thoughts  and  feelings  had  to  shun  the  light 
of  day,  they  fell  into  a  habit  of  playing  a  part,  into  a  false 
artificiality,  into  a  disgusted  aversion  to  what  was  near  and 
healthy,  into  affectation  and  mannerism,  and  in  these  de- 
viations and  wanderings  which  were,  in  themselves,  a  clear 
sign  of  retrogression  and  approaching  downfall,  they  became 
wont  to  see  even  an  excellence  and  an  advance  ;  they  came 
to  delight  in  this  state  of  things,  and,  consciously  or  uncon- 
sciously, helped  to  make  it  worse.  For  the  same  reason, 
the  language  of  the  so-called  Silver  Age  took  on  a  very 
different  character  from  that  of  the  Ciceronian,  or  even 
of  the  Augustan  Period.'  The  vocabulary  became  much 
changed,  partly  by  the  invention  of  new  words  and  phrases, 
and  still  more  by  the  loss  and  rejection  of  those  which  had 
hitherto  been  in  use  ;  rhetorical  figures  took  the  place  of 
the  proper  and  natural  expression  ;  the  rounded  periods  of 
a  Cicero  or  a  Livy  were  broken  u|)  into  short,  detached 
sentences,  often  having  scarcely  any  connection  with  each 
other ;  the  law  of  objectivity,  the  universal  law  of  language, 
was  destroyed  by  subjectivity  and  arbitrariness ;  prose  and 
poetry  were  massed  together  without  preserving  definite  lines 
of  demarcation,  and  without  a  fine  sense  of  the  difference 
between  them.  The  type  of  this  style  is  Seneca ;  Quin- 
tilian  in  vain  attempted  an  opposition  to  it. 

Although,  in  spite  of  all  unfavorable  circumstances,  there 
were  still  influences  which  were  favorable  to  literature,  — 
knowledge  and  use  of  the  literary  treasures  of  earlier  times, 
the  increase  of  the  book-trade,  the  ever  more  frequent  found- 
ing and  using  of  libraries,  the  frequenting  of  pubHc  readings 

1  T.  ii.  4. 


88  ROMAN    LITERATURE. 

{recitationes),  —  nevertheless,  all  this  was  of  service  to  litera- 
ture only  so  far  as  the  latter  was  inoffensive  and  without  dan- 
ger to  the  government.  Hence  poetry  and  rhetoric  stood  in 
the  foreground  ;  both  were  universally  employed  in  the  edu- 
cation of  youth,  and  hence  universally  practiced.*  Poetry, 
however,  was  followed,  in  the  main,  from  no  inward  im- 
pulse, was  without  originality  and  inner  truth  ;  it  acquired  a 
learned  character,  for  which  reason  the  poets  of  this  period 
were  often  called  docfi ;  hence  the  unreal  and  manufac- 
tured lyric  poetry  of  this  period  is  worthless. 

Epic  poetry  is  most  abundantly  represented,  especially  be- 
cause this  could  draw  rich  and  exhaustless  material  from  the 
safe  realm  of  mythology.  The  Greek  and  Roman  poets  of 
the  Augustan  Period,  particularly  Virgil  and  Ovid,  were 
imitated  and  reproduced ;  such  poetry  won  praise  and 
money  {Iionos  et  prmnium),  since  even  the  majority  of  the 
emperors  had  a  taste  for  it.  Domitian  himself  introduced 
a  poetical  contest  with  the  conferring  of  a  poet's  wreath 
upon  the  victor.  On  the  whole,  however,  it  was  only  an 
artificial,  labored,  amateur  poetry,  or  a  restrained,  calculating, 
servile  poetry. 

Oratory,  in  the  lack  of  a  public  theatre  of  action,  confined 
itself  to  the  exercises  of  the  schools,  taking  the  form  of 
(ieclamationes,  si/asorice,  especially  coniroversice^  in  which, 
by  preference,  such  questions  were  discussed  as  lay  far  from 
reality,  nay  even  from  probability  and  possibility. 

Learning,  especially  as  represented  by  the  elder  Pliny, 
took  an  important  position  beside  oratory. 

History,  during  the  period  of  depotism,  was  obliged  either 
to  be  altogether  silent,  or,  when  it  did  not  flatter,  to  be 
cultivated  in  secret.     A  greater  freedom  of  movement,  which 

1  T.  ii.  7.  2  T.  i.  544 ;  C.  321. 


FOURTH   PERIOD.  8g 

made  a  new  impulse  possible  for  iiistorical  writing  as  well 
as  for  satire,  began  first  under  Nerva  and  Trajan. 

Rome  remained,  it  is  true,  in  this,  as  in  former  periods, 
the  central  point,  controlling  literary  culture  and  production  ; 
yet  literary  names  appear  more  and  more  not  from  Italy 
alone,  but  also  from  many  provinces,  especially  Spain  and 
Gaul. 

I.  POETRY. 

a.  — The  Drama. 

On  the  stage  the  Mime  and  the  Pantomime '  (see  p.  38), 
in  this,  as  in  the  foregoing  period,  retained  a.  decided  pre- 
dominance. Whatever  else  was  produced  in  the  drama, 
especially  in  tragedy,  was  mostly  designed,  not  for  represen- 
tation, but  for  private  reading  and  recitation.  As  tragic  poets 
are  mentioned  :  Pomponius  Secundus,-  who  lived  under 
Tiberius  and  Caligula,  and  was  reckoned  by  Quintilian  as  the 
foremost  tragic  writer  of  his  time ;  somewhat  later,  Curia- 
tius  Maternus"^  (the  same  that  appears  in  the  Dialogus  of 
Tacitus),  who  composed  mythological  tragedies  ^vA  prcBtextce 
of  a  liberal  tendency,  as,  for  example,  the  Cato. 

From  this  period  are  extant  only  the  10  tragedies'^  of  the 
philosopher  Seneca,  of  which  8  are  complete  and  2  incom- 
plete. They  all  take  their  subjects  from  Greek  mythology,  and 
are  composed  according  to  Greek  models,  but  are  so  rhetori- 
cal in  their  composition  that  their  dramatic  character  is  there- 
by lost.  Seneca's  authorship  of  these  ten  plays  is  not  to  be 
doubted ;  on  the  other  hand  the  prsetexta  Octavia,  also 
ascribed  to  him,  wherein  the  fate  of  the  unfortunate  wife  of 

1  T.  i.  8.  3  T.  ii.  116;  Men  vii.  30. 

2  T.  ii.  32 ;  C.  350.  4  T.  ii.  49 ;  C.  374- 


go  ROMAN   LITERATURE. 

Nero  is  treated,  certainly  ilid  not  originate  with  Seneca. 
On  account  of  the  correctness  of  the  versification  and  the 
abundance  of  maxims,  these  tragedies  served  as  models  for 
the  French  tragic  writers,  Corneille,  Racine,  and  others.  An 
unfinished  tragedy  of  Lucan  is  mentioned. 


i&.— The  Epos. 

■This  was  partly  historical  and  partly  mythological.  A 
poem  by  the  emperor  Nero,  entitled  Ti'oica}  is  cited,  from 
which,  probably,  the  aAwcris  'lAiou  was  taken,  which  Nero 
sung  with  the  accompaniment  of  the  cithara,  at  the  burning 
of  Rome  in  the  year  64  a.d. 

The  most  important  epic  poet  of  this  period  was  M.  An- 
naeus  Lucanus,-  born  39  a.d.,  at  Corduba  in  Spain.  He 
was  the  nephew  of  the  philosopher  Seneca  ;  was  educated  at 
Rome,  and,  for  a  long  time,  the  favorite  and  panegyrist  of 
Nero  ;  afterwards,  however,  he  fell  into  disfavor,  ostensibly 
because  Nero  was  jealous  of  Lucan's  fame  as  a  poet.^'  For 
that  reason,  he  took  part  in  the  conspiracy  of  Piso,  and,  after 
the  discovery  of  the  same,  was  compelled,  in  the  year  65,  to 
commit  suicide  by  opening  his  veins.  Of  his  poems  of  vari- 
ous kinds,''  there  remains  only  the  Pharsalia  ^  ( incomplete ) , 
in  10  books,  which  treats  of  the  civil  war  between  Caesar  and 
Pompey  to  the  time  of  Caesar's  blockade  at  Alexandria,  writ- 
ten in  a  very,  one  might  say,  too  historical  manner,*^  and  with  a 
positive  and  designedly  one-sided  party  bias  for  Pompey,  as 
the  representative  of  freedom,  for  Cato  and  the  Republic. 

1  T.  ii.  37;  C.  353.  2  T.  ii.  82;  C.  359;  Mer.  vi.  235. 

8  Tac.  XV.  49. 

4  He  wrote  among  other  things,  saturnalia,  silvcB,  epigrams,  a  tragedy 
C2^\q6.  Medea;  also  prose  works.  '"  C.  361. 

6  Hence  it  is  not  without  value  as  an  historical  authority. 


FOURTH   PERIOD,  9 1 

As  a  zealous  Stoic,  the  poet  exhibits  an  honorable,  but 
somewhat  fickle  disposition,  and  a  talent,  strong  and  fresh, 
but,  on  account  of  his  youth,  not  as  yet  possessing  requisite 
moderation,  and  not  trained  to  a  full  and  even  sense  of  form.i 
Pathetic  speeches  and  descriptions  are  quite  too  prominent. 
The  finest  portions  are  the  characterizations  of  different  per- 
sons, as  of  Pompey  and  Caesar,-  and  of  Cato  Uticensis.^  The 
defects  of  the  work  were  correctly  apprehended  by  the 
ancients. 4 

Besides  Lucan  the  following  epic  writers  are  worthy  of 
mention :  C.  Valerius  Flaccus,^  who,  under  Vespasian, 
wrote  8  books  entitled  Argoiiautica,  after  the  model  of  Apol- 
lonius  Rhodius,  correct  in  form,  but  in  a  style  diffuse,  de- 
clamatory, often  artificial  and  obscure. 

C.  Silius  Italicus,^  who  was  born  25  a.d.,  was  consul  in 
68,  and  lived  afterwards  in  the  most  enjoyable  circumstances 
in  Campania  as  a  man  of  wealth ;  but  in  loi,  on  account  of 
some  bodily  suffering,  he  died  a  voluntary  death  by  starvation. 
An  ardent  admirer  of  Virgil,  but  possessing  only  ordinary 
ability,  Silius  wrote  an  epic  poem,  in  1 7  books,  entitled  Pu- 
nka, which  contains  an  account  of  the  Second  Punic  War 
up  to  the  triumph  of  Scipio,  with  servile  imitation  of  Homer 
and  Virgil  in  style,  and  with  a  close  following  of  Livy  '^  in 
subject-matter. 

P.  Papinius  Statius^  was  born  about  45  a.d.  at  Naples, 
and  died  about  96.     He  was  a  flatterer  and  freedman  of  Do- 

1  C.  364.  2  i_  129-150.  3  ii.  380-391. 

•*  Thus  Quintilian  (Inst.  Orat.  x.  i,  90)  says:  Lucanus  ardens  et  conci- 
tatus  et  sententiis  clarissimus  et  magis  oratoribus  quam  poetis  imitandus ; 
and  Servius,  in  a  note  on  Virgil  (^n.  i.  382)  :  Lucanus  videtur  historiam 
composuisse  non  poema. 

5  C.  419 ;  T.  ii.  114.  s  T.  ii.  120;  C.  421 ;  Mer.  vii.  222. 

"^  -Maiore  cura  quam  ingenio,  as  Pliny  says,  Epp.  iii.  7. 

8  T.  ii.  123 ;  C.  423 ;  Mer.  vii.  229 ;  Con.  i.  348, 


92  ROMAN   LITERATURE. 

mitian,  and  wrote,  besides  an  unfinished  Achilleis  in  i^  books, 
a  Thcbais,  in  which  the  legend  of  Eteocles  and  Polynices  is 
treated  in  a  diffuse,  florid,  and  artificial  style,  full  of  mytho- 
logical learning.  The  Silvce,  as  corresponding  to  the  nature 
of  the  poet,  which  was  suited  to  light  versification,  are  far 
more  successful  and  enjoyable.  These  consist  of  32  occa- 
sional poems,  in  5  books,  which  were  thrown  off  in  careless 
style,'  and  which  treat  of  deaths,  births,  partings,  the  eques- 
trian statue  of  Domitian,  and  the  like,  for  the  most  part  in 
epic  metre,  partly,  also,  in  Alcaic,  Sapphic,  and  Phatecian 
(pendecasyllabic)  metres. 

Numerous  attempts  were  made  in  the  department  of  the 
Didactic  Epos,  as  for  example,  by  Germanicus,-  the  son 
of  Drusus,  who  translated,  with  tolerable  skill,  the  PhcEuo- 
mena  of  Aratus  of  Soli,  an  astronomical  text-book ;  perhaps 
also  by  Caesius  Bassus,^  a  friend  of  Persius,  and  editor 
of  his  Satires,  to  whom  a  didactic  poem  entitled  de  metris  is 
ascribed  ;  furthermore,  in  the  time  of  Nero  originated  a 
poem  entitled  ,-£fna,  which  treats  of  \'olcanoes,  and  which, 
made  up  of  645  correct  hexameters,  maintains  a  somewliat 
dry  tone,  and,  in  contrast  to  the  popular  belief,  assumes  a 
rationalistic  standpoint  in  regard  to  myths.  The  author  is 
supposed  to  be  Lucilius  Junior,^  who  was  imperial  pro- 
curator in  Sicily,  and  is  known  through  his  correspondence 
with  Seneca. 


c. — Satire    and   Fable, 

Satire  had,  indeed,  in  this  period,  a  rich  and  even  abun- 
dant material  at  its  service,  but  it  could  not  venture  upon  the 


1  In  contrast  with  the  Thebais,  a  work  of  twelve  years. 

a  T.  ii.  9 ;  C.  349.  3  T.  ii.  87 ,  C.  356.  *  T.  ii.  95 ;  C.  372. 


FOURTH    PERIOD.  93 

political  arena  so  long  as  the  imperial  despotism  continued,^ 
and  it  was  obliged,  therefore,  to  confine  itself  to  literary  and 
certain  social  matters.  Not  until  the  time  of  Trajan  was 
the  Satire  allowed  a  greater  freedom.  Under  the  pressure 
of  despotism,  it  assumed  a  bitter  and  crabbed  tone,  as  in 
the  cases  of  Persius  and  Juvenal ;  Petronius  alone  did  not 
suffer  his  good  humor  to  be  disturbed. 

The  chief  representatives  of  the  Satire  are  given  below. 

A.  Persius  Flaccus-  was  born  34  a.d.,  at  Volaterrge 
in  Etruria,  and  was  educated  at  Rome,  chiefly  by  the  Stoic, 
AmiEeus  Cornutus,  He  lived  only  till  the  year  62.  He 
possessed  a  morally  pure  mind  and  manner  of  life,  was 
inspired  with  the  Stoic  ideal  of  virtue,  and  hence  was  at 
variance  with  the  spirit  of  his  times  ;  but  he  lacked  vivid 
poetic  endowment  and  an  adequate  knowledge  of  life  and 
reality.  Persius  wrote  Satires  which,  indeed  (at  least,  the 
first,  in  which  the  poetical  standpoint  of  the  author  is  set 
forth),  are  not  without  life,  but  which  are,  on  the  whole, 
only  theoretical  treatises  on  Stoic  doctrines ;  for  example, 
Sat.  IV  discusses  self-knowledge ;  V,  the  true  freedom  of 
the  wise  man,  i.e.,  of  the  Stoic  ;  VI,  hfe  according  to  nature. 
On  account  of  their  obscure  sententiousness  and  concise- 
ness of  language,  their  forced  metaphors  and  looseness  of 
development  and  connection,  the  Satires  of  Persius  are 
very  difficult  of  comprehension ;  still,  they  were  admired 
even  in  antiquity  on  account  of  their  ethical  tendency,  and 
were  much  read,  especially  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

The  philosopher,  Seneca,  wrote  a  pohtical  Satire^  entitled 
ludits  de  morte  Claudii  (also  called  Apocolocyntosis,  —  trans- 

1  Only  against  the  emperor  Claudius  did  Seneca  feel  himself  permitted 
to  direct  his  Apocolocyntosis. 

2  T.  ii.  79;  C.  355;  Mer.  vi.  233;  Conington's  Persius  :  Introd. 

3  C.  377  ;  T.  ii.  47 ;  Mer.  v.  463. 


94  ROMAN  LITERATURE. 

formation  into  a  pumpkin),  in  which  he  again  took  up  the 
form  of  the  Satura  Menippea  (see  p.  45) .  This  is  a  venomous 
Satire  on  the  apotheosis  of  the  weak-minded  emperor  Clau- 
dius, by  whom  Seneca  was  banished  to  Corsica  in  the  year  41. 
Claudius  is  compelled  to  throw  dice  in  Heaven,  always  with 
a  goblet  that  has  no  bottom,  so  that  the  dice  constantly  fall 
through ;  he  is  then  given  over  to  Caligula  as  a  slave  and 
spy,  and  finally  to  Menander,  a  freedman  of  yEacus.  In 
comparison  with  Claudius,  Nero  is  extolled. 

The  satirical  romance  of  Petronius  Arbiter  ^  (originally 
consisting  of  20  books)  had  also  the  form  and  character  of 
the  Satura  Menippea.  Of  this  work,  however,  only  a  series  of 
fragments  remains,  in  particular  the  cena  Trimalchionis,  a 
description  of  a  feast  in  the  house  of  an  enormously  wealthy 
upstart,  who,  though  of  very  plebeian  manners,  and  utterly 
lacking  in  taste  and  culture,  yet  makes  a  foolish  exhibition 
of  himself-  with  disgusting  boastfulness.  The  scene  of  the 
story  is  laid  in  Lower  Italy  ;  the  story  itself  is  put  in  the 
mouth  of  different  persons,  especially  of  the  freedman  En- 
colpius,  and  hence  the  language  varies  according  to  the 
grade  of  culture  of  the  speaker.  The  work  abounds  in  crude 
and  often  very  coarse  elements  ;  is,  however,  full  of  spirit 
and  wit,  and  highly  interesting  as  giving  a  knowledge  of  the 
moral  and  social  condition  of  the  times,  as  well  as  of  the 
colloquial  language,  especially  of  the  lower  classes.  Accord- 
ing to  the  description  of  Petronius'  character  as  given  by 
Tacitus,  it  is,  perhaps,  not  improbable  that  the  author  is 
identical  with  the  C.  Petronius  who,  according  to  Tacitus,^ 
was  the  confidant  and  maitre  de  plaisir  of  the  emperor 
Nero,  and  was  compelled  by  him  to  commit  suicide  in  66 


1  T.  ii.  88  ;  C.  394 ;  Mer.  vi.  164.  3  Ann.  xvi.  17,  seq. 

2  Putidissima  iactatio,  Petr.  \  73. 


FOURTH    PERIOD.  95 

A.D.  It  is,  however,  more  certain  that  the  work  was  com- 
posed in  the  time  of  Nero. 

The  most  important  satirist  of  this  period  is  Dec.  Junius 
luvenalis,  who  was  born  at  Aquinum  (about  the  year  50?), 
received  rhetorical  instruction  at  Rome,  was,  for  a  tune,  ad- 
vocate, and  also  tribunus  militum  in  Britain  under  Domitian, 
and  was  banished  in  extreme  old  age,  probably  under  Ha- 
drian, either  to  Egypt  or  Britain,  ostensibly  on  account  of 
an  allusion  to  a  favorite  of  the  Emperor  in  Sat.  VII,  90.  It 
is  probable  that  he  died  in  exile. 

Of  Juvenal  we  have  16  Saiires^  in  5  books,  arranged  ac- 
cording to  the  time  of  their  composition,  which,  though  not 
written  until  the  time  of  Trajan  and  Hadrian,. treat  almost 
entirely,  so  far  as  matters  are  not  considered  which  pertain 
to  man  in  general,  of  Romans  and  Roman  affairs  under  the 
reign  of  Domitian. 

Juvenal's  satire'^  is  an  outcome  of  Domitian's  reign  of  ter- 
ror. The  poet  expresses  his  feeling  in  I,  89  :  facit  indig- 
natio  versum,  —  his  indignation  makes  him  a  poet.  In 
consequence  of  what  he  has  experienced  and  felt,  he  is  a 
pessimist  in  his  view  of  mankind  ;  a  nihilist,  in  respect  to  re- 
ligion ;  as  a  delineator  of  customs  and  as  a  poet,  a  realist, 
and  the  last,  indeed,  to  an  extreme.  He  portrays  in  its  most 
naked  hideousness  the  vicious  society  of  his  time,  —  so 
vicious  as  boldly  to  flaunt  its  vice, — -with  a  rhetorical 
pathos  of  delineation  reaching  to  the  offensive  and  disgust- 
ing ;  yet  the  language  is  for  the  most  part  forcible,  drastic, 
and  moving,  though  sometimes  difficult  to  understand. 

The  later  satires'^  have  a  less  passionate,  more  languid  tone 
than  the  earlier,  a  fact  which  is  explained  by  the  increasing 


1  T.  ii.156;  C.  442;  Macleane's  Commentary :  Introd. ;  Mayor's  Juvenal 
"  C.  445  ;  Mer.  vii.  228,  273.  3  Mer.  vii.  276. 


96  ROMAN   LITERATURE. 

age  of  the  poet,  but  which  has  given  occasion  to  critics' 
for  groundless  and  untenable  doubts  as  to  the  genuineness 
of  Satires  X,  XII-XV,  and  separate  parts  of  other  satires. 

The  most  interesting  satires  are  :  I,  the  standpoint  of  the 
poet ;  III,  the  disagreeable  features  of  life  in  the  metropolis  ; 
IV,  an  anecdote  from  Domitian's  time  ;  V,  the  misery  of 
clients ;   VII,  the  position  of  literary  men. 

The  Fable,  styled  by  Seneca-  intemf'tatum  Romanis 
ingeniis  opus,  was  first  treated  as  a  special  kind  of  poetry 
by  Phaedrus,''  of  whom  nothing  is  known  except  that  he 
was  a  native  of  Pieria,  that  he  came  to  Rome  as  a  slave,  was 
set  free  by  Augustus,  and  was  persecuted  under  Tiberius  on 
account  of  some  offensive  verses. 

His  92  fables  of  animals,  for  the  most  part  imitated  from 
^Esop,  and  written  in  iambic  trimeter,  form  5  books.  Some 
anecdotes  are  intermingled  with  them.  They  have  for  their 
object  the  moral  improvement  of  the  reader,  yet,  at  the 
same  time,  they  preserve  a  sprightly  tone.'*  They  are,  on 
the  whole,  metrically  correct,  and  written  in  fluent,  if  not 
(especially  in  the  later  books)  quite  pure,  language.  Whether 
the  fables  contained  in  the  appendix  are  to  be  ascribed  to 
Phaedrus  is  doubtful. 


<?.— Lyric    Poetry    and    Epigram. 

Lyric  Poetry  was  represented  in  this  period  by  no  im- 
portant production,  although  the  preparation  of  l}Tic  poems 
according  to  set  rule  and  pattern  was  a  very  common  occu- 


1  Among  them,  O.  Ribbeck. 

2  Consol.  ad  Polyb,  8,  27. 

*  T.  ii.  32;  C.  349;  Mer.  v.  262. 

*  Cf.  prolog,  to  Lib.  I :  duplex  libelli  dos  est :  quod  risum  movet  et  quod 
prudenti  vitam  consilio  monet. 


FOURTH   PERIOD.  97 

pation,  so  that  many  persons  considered  it  a  duty,  from  time 
to  time,  perhaps  every  day,  to  produce  something  in  verse. 

Quintihani  mentions  Caesius  Bassus,  the  friend  of 
Persius  (see  p.  92)  as  a  lyric  poet.  Among  the  best  lyrics 
belong  the  silvce  of  Statius^  (see  p.  91).  Erotic  poems 
were  written  by  Arruntius  Stella,^  a  friend  of  Statins,  and 
Sulpicia,^  the  wife  of  Calenus,  to  whom  is  ascribed,  also,  a 
saiire  which  is,  without  doubt,  of  later  origin,  and  has  often 
been  appended  to  the  works  of  Ausonius  or  Juvenal. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Epigram  found  skilful  treatment 
at  the  hands  of  M.  Valerius  Martialis,^  who,  born  at 
Bilbilis  in  Spain  about  the  year  40,  lived  chiefly  at  Rome  in 
limited  circumstances,  although  he  was  rewarded  by  Domi- 
tian  for  his  flatteries  with  the  ius  trium  liberorum  and  the 
office  of  tribune.  About  the  year  98  he  returned  to  Bilbilis, 
received  an  estate  there  as  a  present  from  a  domina  Mar- 
cella,  and  died  in  the  year  102,  probably  at  the  same  place. 

His  epigrams,^  1555  in  all,  in  14  books,  together  with  a 
liber  spectaciilorum,  are  partly  mere  mottoes  for  presents  ~  at 
the  Saturnalia,  and  partly  real  epigrams  with  a  designed 
point  at  the  close,  in  which  the  whole  effect  lies.  They  are 
written  in  elegiac,  phatecian,  and  choliambic  metres.  Mar- 
tial had  a  remarkable  gift  for  seizing  upon  the  ridiculous 
and  piquant,  and  also  upon  the  common,  the  ugly,  and 
the  obscene,  and  combining  them  into  a  short  poem 
with  endless  wit  and  surprising  turns  of  thought.^  Les- 
sing  says   of  him  :   "  Only  a  few  have  made   so  many  epi- 


1  Inst.  Orat.  x.  i,  96.  ■*  C.  434. 

2  T.  ii.  126 ;  C.  424.  *  C.  429. 

3  T.  ii.  133 ;  C.  425. 

'  T.  ii.  128;  Paley  and  Stone's  Commentary  :  Introd. 

"  For  example,  liber  XIII,  xenia  and  liber  XIV,  apopkoreta. 

8  C,  432 ;  Mer.  vii.  231 ;  Con.  i.  429. 


98  ROMAN    LITERATURE. 

grams  as  Martial,  and  no  one  has  made,  among  so  many,  so 
many  good  ones,  and  so  many  really  excellent  ones."  Un- 
fortunately, the  enjoyment  is  not  seldom  destroyed  for  the 
respectable  reader,  both  by  the  abjectness  of  mind  with 
which  Martial  celebrates,  importunes,  and  glorifies  his  patrons, 
especially  Domitian,  and  by  the  ruthless  wounding  of  the 
moral  sense,  of  which  he  himself  is  well  aware.  The  former 
is  not  justified  by  the  poverty  of  his  condition,  nor  is  the  latter 
sufficiently  excused  by  an  appeal  to  the  taste  of  the  public, 
the  demands  and  pet  fancies  of  his  patrons,  or  the  precedent 
of  other  poets  and  his  own  pure  manner  of  life. 

II.    PROSE. 

a.  —  History. 

An  objective  apprehension  and  representation  of  the 
present  and  the  immediate  past  (up  to  the  last  period 
of  the  Republic)  necessarily  became  lost  in  the  century 
of  despotism ;  partly  in  consequence  of  the  unlimited  flat- 
tery, partly  on  account  of  hatred  toward  the  government.' 
The  free-thinking  and  free-writing  historians  could  find  no 
place  under  the  Julian  dynasty  and  Domitian.  A.  Cre- 
mutius  Cordus-  was  forced  to  commit  suicide  under  Ti- 
berius. His  annales,  which  treated  in  a  liberal  manner  of  the 
close  of  the  Republic,  were  ordered  by  the  enslaved  senate 
to  be  burned,  and  yet  they  were  widely  circulated  and  read.-* 

The  portrayal  of  their  own  times  was  undertaken,  for  the 
most  part,  by  the  rulers  themselves.  Not  only  Augustus, 
but  also  Tiberius,  Claudius,''  and  his  wife,  the  younger 


1  Libidine  assentandi  vel  odio  adversus  domtnantes.     Tac.  Hist.  i.  i. 

3  T.  ii.  15  ;  C.  349  ;  Mer.  v.  182. 

8  Cf.  Tac.  Ann.  iv.  34,  seq.  ■*  T.  ii.  9,  36;  C.  352. 


FOURTH    PERIOD.  99 

Agrippina,  and  later,  Vespasian  1  wrote  commentaries. 
Aufidius  Bassus  wrote,  under  Tiberius,  a  history  of  the 
civil  tvars  and  the  war  against  the  Germans;  the  elder 
Pliny  continued  this  work,  writing  20  books  bellonim  Ger- 
manics and  31  books  a  fine  Aufidii  Bassi.  Also  Fabius 
Rusticus,-  who  seems  to  have  been  still  living  in  the  year 
108,  and  Cluvius  Rufus  wrote  the  histoiy  of  their  time. 
All  these  works  have  been  lost.  The  following,  however, 
have  been  preserved  :  — 

Velleius  Paterculus,  tribunus  mihtum  beginning  with 
the  year  i  a.d.,  served  under  the  command  of  Tiberius  in 
Germany,  and  was  made  praetor  on  his  recommendation. 
The  year  of  his  death  is  unknown.  He  wrote  histories  Ro- 
mans ad  M.  Vinicium  cons.  (a.  30)  libri  II?  The  introduc- 
tion to  the  first  book,  and  the  time  from  the  rape  of  the 
Sabine  women  to  the  war  with  Perseus  of  Macedonia,  have 
been  lost.  Velleius  begins  with  the  earliest  history,  which, 
however,  he  throws  off  very  summarily,  paying  special  atten- 
tion to  the  chronology.  Afterwards  the  narrative  becomes 
constantly  more  diffuse,  only  at  last  to  empty  itself  into  a  sea 
of  immoderate  and  verbose  glorification  of  Tiberius.  There 
is  a  lack  of  exhaustive  preparatory  study,  the  apprehension 
and  choice  of  material  is  subjective  and  dilettant,  induced 
more  by  interest  in  persons  (as  when  he  comes  to  speak  of 
his  commander  in  the  war)  than  in  things.  The  style  is  far- 
fetched, often  inflated  to  the  panegyric  tone  of  the  court, 
with  an  artificiality  far  removed  from  good  taste.  But  at  the 
same  time  evidences  of  sound  judgment  often  appear,  and 
there  is  no  lack  of  apt  and  drastic  characterizations.^ 


1  T.  ii.  100.  -  T.  ii.  109.  ^  7'.  ii.  17;  C.  344;  Mer.  v.  230. 

^  For  example,  that  of  C.  Marius.  ii.  11 ;  of  iVIithridates  of  Pontus,  ii.  18  ; 
of  Pompey,  ii.  29 ;  of  Cato  Uticensis,  ii.  35  ;  of  Caesar,  ii.  41,  and  of  others. 


lOO  ROMAN    LITERATURE. 

Valerius  Maximus^  was  not  an  historian  but  only  a 
compiler  of  notes  and  anecdotes.  He  wrote,  under  Tiberius, 
factorum  et  dictoriim  metnorabilium  libri  IX,  of  which  two 
compendia  from  the  fifth  and  seventh  centuries  are  extant. 
They  were  probably  written  as  a  collection  of  models  for 
rhetoricians,  and  for  the  purpose  of  earning  money.  The 
examples,  taken  alternately  from  Roman  and  foreign  history, 
are  arranged  according  to  certain  topics,  as  de  religione,  de 
miraciilis ;  according  to  the  different  virtues  and  vices,  and 
the  like.  The  treatment  is  in  the  highest  degree  lacking  in 
judgment  and  taste,  frequently  even  nonsensical  and  childish, 
while  the  style  is  often  absurdly  sprawling  and  needlessly 
pathetic.  In  addition  to  this,  there  occasionally  appears 
disgusting  flattery  of  the  imperial  family.  At  the  most, 
some  value  can  be  ascribed  to  the  compilation  for  the 
material  it  contains,  though  it  is  much  too  uncritical 
and  rhetorical  to  be  able  to  serve  as  a  reliable  historical 
authority. 

Q.  Curtius  Rufus,-  probably  a  rhetorician,  wTOte  histo- 
rice  Alexandri  Magni  libri  X  (of  which  I  and  II  have  been 
lost),  with  close  dependence  upon  the  existing  authorities, 
especially  the  Alexandrian  Clitarchus.  The  common  ac- 
ceptation now  is,  that  he  wrote  at  the  beginning  of  the  reign 
of  Claudius,^  though  by  some  he  is  placed  under  Augustus 
or  Vespasian. 

Curtius  exhibits  no  great  historical  sense,  and,  indeed, 
little  understanding  of  military  affairs.  Only  the  good 
fortune  of  Alexander  is  made  prominent,  while  his  impor- 
tance as  a  statesman  is  not  recognized.  The  book  was 
intended  to  furnish  entertaining  reading,  for  which  reason 


1  T.  ii.  20 ;  C.  346.  -  T.  ii.  54 ;  C.  392. 

'  The  passage,  x.  9,  3-6,  accords  best  with  that  supposition. 


FOURTH    PERIOD.  lOi 

special  stress  is  laid  upon  what  is  wonderful,  full  of  adven- 
ture, and  exciting  to  the  imagination. 

As  regards  style,  the  imitation  of  Livy  is  very  evident  in 
the  choice  of  words  and  phraseology.  Still,  the  periodic 
sentences  of  Livy  are,  for  the  most  part,  broken  up  into  the 
short,  disconnected  sentences  with  poetic  coloring  which 
were  suited  to  the  taste  of  that  time. 

Finally,  Curtius  is  skilled  in  dramatic  grouping  and  effec- 
tive delineation  ;  especially  the  speeches  are  prepared  with 
careful  attention  to  rhetorical  rules. 

Cornelius  Tacitus, ^  born  of  a  family  of  note,  probably 
not  after  the  year  54,  excels  all  other  historians  either  of  this 
or  of  any  former  period.  The  conclusion  that  Interamna 
(now  Terni)  in  Umbria  was  his  birthplace  has  been  drawn 
from  the  fact  that  the  emperor  Tacitus,  who  had  the  his- 
torian's works  carefully  collected,  was  a  native  of  that  place. 
But  this  does  not  prove  that  Tacitus  was  really  born  there 
any  more  than  the  fact  that  the  citizens  of  Terni  had  a 
monument  erected  to  him  in  the  year  15 14. 

Tacitus  pursued  rhetorical  studies  at  Rome  under  Marcus 
Aper,  lulius  Secundus,  perhaps,  also,  under  Quintilian  ;  mar- 
ried, in  the  year  78,  the  daughter  of  lulius  Agricola ;  filled 
the  ordinary  offices  up  to  the  praetorship  under  Vespasian, 
Titus,  and  Domitian ;  was  absent  from  Rome  (as  ambassa- 
dor ?)  in  the  year  90  and  after ;  became  consul  under 
Nerva  in  the  year  97,  and  died,  probably  in  the  beginning  of 
Hadrian's  reign. 

His  writings,  arranged  in  chronological  order,  are  the  fol- 
lowing :  — 

I.  Dialogus  de  oratoribus^  a  dialogue  on  the  decline  of 
oratory  in  the  time  of  the  emperors,  which  is  represented  as 

1  Schlegel :  Hist,  of  Lit.  76 ;  C.  449.  -  T.  ii.  172 ;  C.  450. 


ROMAN    LITERATURE. 


occurring  in  the  year  75,  and  in  which  Curiatius  Maternus, 
M.  Aper,  luUus  Secundus,  and  Vipstanus  Messala  appear  as 
the  speakers.  This  dialogue  was  written  under  Domitian, 
and  was  denied  by  many  to  be  the  work  of  Tacitus  on  ac- 
count of  its  style,  which,  in  imitation  of  Cicero,  was  somewhat 
diffuse  and  florid.  But  the  whole  spirit  of  the  production 
points  unmistakably  to  Tacitus. 

2.  De  vita  et  moribus  lulii  Agricolcv,'^  written  in  97  or  98, 
a  biography  of  the  father-in-law  of  Tacitus,  who  was  gover- 
nor of  Britain  from  78-85,  and  who,  having  been  recalled  by 
Domitian,  in  spite  of,  or  rather  on  account  of  his  famous 
deeds,  died  under  the  suspicion  of  poisoning,  in  the  year  93. 
The  biography  is  not  really  a  laudatio,  but  is  a  work  rhetori- 
cal in  style,  written  in  loving  remembrance  of  Agricola. 

3.  Germania-  (also  de  situ,  moribus  et populis  Germanicc)^ 
probably  written  in  98,  and  intended  primarily  to  be  simply  a 
monographic  study  for  a  larger  historical  work,  perhaps  (if 
it  be  true  that  Tacitus  was  in  Germany  as  an  ambassador) 
founded  upon  what  he  himself  had  seen.  In  contrast 
to  the  corrupt  condition  of  things  at  Rome,  he  pictures 
the  freedom  and  spontaneous  morality  of  the  Germans  in 
an  ideal  light,  although  the  satirical  purpose  of  the  work 
may  not  be  looked  upon  as  the  chief  one.  The  first  part 
(c.  1-27)  treats  in  commune  de  omnium  Germanorum  ori- 

gine  ac  moribus ;  the  second  (c.  28-46)  of  the  separate 
tribes,  in  geographical  order.  This  work  is  the  chief  author- 
ity in  all  ancient  literature  for  our  knowledge  of  the  ancient 
Germans. 

4.  Historice^  originally  consisting  of  14  books,  of  which, 
however,  only  Books  I-IV  and  a  part  of  Book  V  have  been 


1  T.  ii.  174;  C.  451.  -  T.  ii.  177. 

■^  T.  ii.  181  i  C.  452;  Mer.  vi.  372,  vii.  236. 


FOURTH   PERion.  103 

preserved.  The  work  contained  an  account  of  the  period 
from  Galba  to  the  death  of  Domitian  (69-96).  The  extant 
portion  embraces  the  year  69  and  a  part  of  70.  One  of  the 
most  interesting  parts  is  the  excursus  on  Palestine  and  the 
Jews.i     The  work  was  composed  under  Trajan. 

5.  A /males'^  (more  accurately,  al?  excessu  Divi  Angus  ti 
liber),  in  16  books,  of  which,  however,  only  Books  I-IV  and 
XII-XV  have  been  preserved  entire,  V,  VI,  XI,  and  XVI  in 
incomplete  form.  The  work  was  a  history  of  the  Julian 
dynasty  from  the  death  of  Augustus  to  that  of  Nero,  to  which 
the  Historice  formed  the  chronological  continuation.  The 
years  29-31,  37-47,  embracing,  among  other  things,  the  en- 
tire reign  of  Caligula,  are  wanting ;  also,  66-68.  The  work 
was  written  between  115  and  117.  The  arrangement,  though 
annalistic  in  design,  still  often  allows  the  events  of  several 
years,  when  related  to  each  other,  to  be  brought  together  in 
the  narration. 

A  projected  account  of  the  time  of  Augustus,  to  be  fol- 
lowed by  a  history  of  the  reigns  of  Nerva  and  Trajan,  was 
never  written  by  Tacitus. 

Tacitus  writes  on  the  basis  of  a  careful  and  exhaustive 
study  of  the  authorities.^  These  were  partly  oral  traditions, 
partly  older  documents  and  writings,  such  as  the  acta 
liiitrna,  and  perhaps  also  the  acfa  senatus,  various  memoirs, 
as  those  of  the  younger  Agrippina,  the  historical  works  of 
Cluvius  Rufus,  the  elder  Pliny,  and  others.  He  strives 
earnestly  to  proceed  in  a  critical  and  impartial  way,'*  but 
from  the  outset  he  holds  firmly  to  the  political  opinion  that 


■■■  V.  2,  seqq. 

2  T.  ii.  183;   C.  453;    Frost's  commentary  on  the  Annals;  Nipperdey's 
Annals,  translated  by  Browne. 

3  T.  ii.  163  ;  C.  455  ;  Mer.  vii.  238. 

■*  Sine  ira  et  studio,  Ann.  i.  i ;  fides  incorrupta,  Hist.  i.  i. 


I04  ROMAN    LITERATURE. 

the  rule  of  the  senate  during  the  good  old  times  of  the 
Republic  was  the  ideal  one,  and  that  the  rule  of  the  emper- 
ors is  a  necessary  evil.  Politically,  therefore,  he  is  a  pro- 
nounced aristocrat  and  an  admirer  of  the  Republic.  True, 
being  hard  pressed,  he  makes  so  much  concession  to  the 
actual  state  of  things,  as  to  assume  the  position  of  resigna- 
tion and  reluctant  recognition,  yet  he  is  so  thoroughly 
embittered  by  despotism,  and  that,  too,  the  despotism  of  a 
Domitian,  under  whose  bloody  suspicion  his  own  relatives 
had  to  suffer,  that  only  under  the  reign  of  a  Nerva  does  he 
reluctantly  acknowledge  the  union  of  libertas  zwdprincipafus. 
Accordingly,  there  may  be  seen  under  all  that  he  writes  this 
bitter  humor,^  which  causes  him  to  doubt  even  concerning 
the  government  of  the  gods,  and  leads  sometimes  to  one- 
sided and  hypercritical  judgments.- 

On  the  whole,  however,  Tactius  earnestly  endeavors  to 
give  a  really  adequate  account  by  means  of  a  thorough  in- 
vestigation and  portrayal  of  the  caiisce  and  rationes,  the  ex- 
ternal and  internal  causes  and  reasons  of  things ;  ^  in  which 
attempt  he  displays  a  perfect  mastery  in  psychological 
analysis  and  in  characterization,  above  all  in  the  history  of 
Tiberius.^  A  fixed  philosophical  way  of  looking  at  things, 
taken  from  an  existing  system,  Tacitus  does  not  have. 
Moreover  his  religious  views  are  not  entirely  settled  and 
logical.  He  is  sometimes  inclined,  in  view  of  what  he  is 
compelled  to  see  and  hear,  entirely  to  discard  the  thought 
of  a  divine  government  of  the  world,  yet  fatalistic  touches 

1  Mer.  vii.  274. 

2  This  has  led  recent  writers,  especially  Adolf  Stahr,  to  the  much  more 
one-sided  and  partizan  assertion  that  Tacitus  is  an  uncritical,  prejudiced 
writer,  nay,  even  malicious,  and  a  wilful  distorter  of  the  truth ;  and  that  he 
has  in  manifold  ways  knowingly  corrupted  history,  with  aristocratic  crab- 
bedness,  especially  in  his  account  of  Tiberius. 

8  Mer.  vii.  234.  *  Ann.  i.-vi. 


FOURTH    PERIOD.  I05 

occasionally  appear  in  spite  of  the  psychological  and  objec- 
tive design. 

The  style  ^  of  Tacitus  still  bears  in  the  first  work  {Dialogus) 
a  Ciceronian  imprint,  reminds  one  distinctly  of  Sallust  in  the 
second  and  third  {Agricola  and  Germania),  but  he  rises  in 
the  fourth  and  fifth  {HisforicE  and  Annales)  to  a  full  inde- 
pendence. Tacitus  is  earnest,  stately,  and  solemn  (cre/xj/os), 
full  of  conscious  gravity  as  an  aristocrat,  never  swept  away 
into  a  passionate  tone,  ponderous  in  thought,  and  compact 
in  style.  By  his  conciseness  he  arouses  thought  and  imagi- 
nation ;  he  avoids  the  common  and  low,  and  is  attracted  by 
the  extraordinar}". 

Z).  — Oratory. 

In  this  period,  as  in  the  previous  one,  there  was  no  lack 
of  rhetorically  educated  men,  some  of  whom  were  also  active 
in  literary  work,  and  published  orations  ;  there  were  want- 
ing, however,  freedom  and  opportunity,  courage  and  appre- 
ciation for  public  free  speech.  Oratory  was  carefully  confined 
to  the  senate  and  the  courts  of  the  Centumviri  (civil  courts), 
which  had  nothing  to  do  with  politics ;  it  was,  therefore,  in- 
evitable that  oratory  should  fall  more  and  more  into  disuse.^ 
The  rhetorical  exercises  of  the  schools  were,  therefore,  all 
the  more  eagerly  pursued,  in  which  the  entire  stress  was  laid 
upon  form,  expression,  and  style,  upon  ingenious  and  ele- 
gant turns  of  expression,  upon  witty  and  subtle  conceits, 
figures,  and  contrasts,  —  in  short  upon  everything  that  could 


1  C.  454 ;  Frost's  Annals  of  Tacitus  :  Life,  etc. ;  Botticher's  Essay  in 
Smith's  Tacitus. 

2  This  decline,  most  intimately  connected  with  the  political  develop- 
ment, and  the  contrast  between  the  old  and  the  new  oratory,  are  treated  by 
Tacitus,  dial,  de  orat.    T.  i.  385 ;  C.  246. 


Io6  ROMAN    LITERATURE. 

produce  a  momentary  effect.'  The  subject-matter  of  these 
rhetorical  exercises  can  be  seen  from  the  work  of  the  elder 
Annaeus  Seneca,'-'  which  is  a  very  valuable  contribution 
to  the  history  of  oratory,  and  is  entitled  oratorum  ei  rhetortim 
sententicE,  divisiones,  coiofes.  This  work,  which  was  written 
not  long  before  his  death  at  the  request  of  his  son,  contained 
lo  books  of  controversies,  of  which  about  half  are  preserved 
entire,  and  the  rest  in  a  compendium  of  later  date  ;  also  one 
book  of  suasorice,  essays  upon  subjects  discussed  in  the 
schools.  The  task  was  zealously  undertaken  by  the  author, 
in  rehance  upon  his  extraordinary  power  of  memory,  but  in 
the  course  of  his  work,  he  himself  became  disgusted  with  it, 
—  a  sign  of  his  good  sense. 

The  most  important  rhetorician  of  this  period,  however, 
was  M.  Fabius  Quintilianus,^  born  at  Calagurris  in 
Spain,  probably  while  Tiberius  was  still  on  the  throne  ;  he 
was  appointed  by  Vespasian  as  the  first  salaried  teacher  of 
rhetoric  in  Rome,  an  office  which  he  filled  for"  twenty  years  ; 
he  was  afterwards  called  by  Domitian  to  be  the  tutor  of  his 
grand-nephew,  received  the  honors  of  a  consul,  and  died 
about  the  year  98. 

He  was  a  man  of  noble  and  benevolent  disposition,  com- 
prehensive learning,  and  cultivated  and  temperate  judgment. 
The  only  one  of  his  writings  that  has  been  preserved  is  a 
work  written  after  he  had  retired  from  the  office  of  a  public 
teacher.  It  is  in  12  books,  entitled  institutio  oratoria,  a 
complete  introduction  to  the  study  of  oratory,  in  which, 
contrary  to  the  corrupt  fashionable  tone  of  his  contempora- 


1  T.  ii.  7. 

2  Father  of  the  philosopher,  and  a  native  of  Corduba  in  Spain;  he  lived 
from  about  54  B.C.  to  40  A.D.,  mostly  in  Rome.  T.  i.  544;  C.  321;  Mar. 
iv.  432. 

8  T.  ii.  320 ;  C.  407  ;   Mer.  vii.  225. 


FOURTH   PERIOD.  107 

ries  (in  particular  of  the  philosopher  Seneca),  the  writer  sees 
in  the  older  orators,  especially  Cicero,  the  ideal  of  an  orator. 
Book  I  treats  of  the  preparatory  grammatical  studies  ;  II,  of 
the  elements  and  essence  of  rlietoric  ;  III-VII,  of  iuvcntio 
and  dispositio;  VIII-XI,  of  elociitio,  together  with  memoria 
and  proniintiatio ;  XII  describes  the  finished  orator.  The 
tenth  book  is  especially  interesting,  since  it  contains  a  parallel 
view  and  characterization  of  the  most  important  Greek  and 
Roman  poets  and  prose  authors. 

One  of  the  most  learned  pupils  of  Quintilian  was  C. 
Plinius  Ceecilius  Secundus,'  commonly  called  the 
younger  Pliny.  He  was  born  at  Novum  Comum  (Como) 
in  the  year  62,  became  consul  in  the  year  joo,  was  gov- 
ernor of  Bithynia  111-112,  and  died,  doubtless  soon  after 
his  return  to  Rome. 

He  was  an  advocate  of  very  wide  practice.  Of  his 
speeches  we  still  possess  the  panegyrici/s-  a  eulogy  on 
Trajan  in  return  for  the  gift  of  the  consulship.  The  speech 
is  much  injured  by  the  strongly-exaggerated  praise  which 
it  contains,  the  pompous  studiedness  of  its  style,  and  its 
diffuse  rhetoric.  Much  more  attracti\e  and  interesting  are 
his  Epistuhv^  in  9  Books,'*  which  he  wrote  with  a  view 
to  publication  during  the  years  96-109,^  and  afterwards 
actually  published.  These  letters,  from  the  fact  that  they 
were  intended  for  publication,  come  very  far,  it  is  true, 
from  making  the  fresh  impression  of  immediateness  char- 
acteristic of  Cicero's  letters  ;  one  sees  clearly  that  the  smooth, 
uniform  style  is  not  a  product  of  the  moment ;  yet  they  give 
us  a  very  valuable  and  varied  picture  of  that  period,  espe- 

1  T.  ii.  187  ;  C.  437.  2  T.  ii.  192 ;  Mer.  vii.  439. 

3  T.  ii.  190;  C.  439;  Mer.  vii.  250;  Church  and  Brodribb's  Pliny  :  Introd. 

4  Exclusive  of  his  correspondence  with  Trajan. 
6  Possibly  96-iir  or  112. 


I08  ROMAN   LITERATURE. 

cially  of  the  often  frivolous  literary  activity,  and  show  us 
the  writer  as  a  man  not  at  all  genial,  indeed,  and  even  vain 
and  pedantic,  yet  well-meaning,  and  humane  even  to  tender- 
ness, very  eager  to  learn  and  to  know,  interesting  himself  in 
everything,  striving  sincerely  for  the  good  and  the  beautiful. 
A  separate  book  is  formed  by  the  correspondence  between 
Trajan  and  Pliny,  during  the  governorship  of  the  latter  in 
Bithynia,  in  which,  especially,  the  letters  (96,  97)  relating  to 
the  treatment  of  the  Christians  are  valuable.  Book  VI,  16, 
contains  a  description  of  the  eruption  of  Vesuvius  in  the 
year  79. 

Concerning  Tac.  dialogus  de  oratoribus,  see  p.  loi. 

c.  —  Philosophy. 

Philosophy  found  in  this  period,  as  in  the  preceding  one, 
not  a  few  disciples.  They  were,  however,  for  the  most  part, 
dilettanti,  who  treated  philosophical  subjects  without  exhaust- 
ive study  and  without  logical  system.  The  majority  in  these 
troublous  times  inclined  to  Stoicism,  especially  men  who  were 
opposed  to  the  government.^  At  the  same  time,  exaggera- 
tion and  ostentation  were  sometimes  carried  to  extremes. 
The  great  number  of  Greek  philosophers  who  flooded  Rome 
brought  philosophy  into  disrepute,  and  caused  Vespasian  and 
Domitian  to  banish  them  from  Italy. 

By  far  the  most  important  philosophical  writer  is  L. 
Annaeus  Seneca,-  born  about  the  year  4  a.d.  at  Corduba 
in  Spain,  son  of  Seneca  the  rhetorician  (see  p.  106).  He 
was  educated  at  Rome,  became  senator,  was  banished  by 
Claudius  to  Corsica  in  the  year  41  at  the  instigation  of 
Messalina,  was  recalled  in  the  year  49  at  the  request  of 

1  For  example,  Paetus  Thrasea,  Lucan,  Persius,  Helvidius  Priscus,  and 
others.  ^  T.  ii.  40 ;  C.  378  ;  Ritter,  iv.  174 ;  Farrar  :  Seekers  after  God. 


FOURTH   PERIOD.  IO9 

Agrippina,  became  tutor  of  Nero,  was  consul  in  57,  and, 
in  the  year  65,  was  compelled  by  Nero  to  commit  suicide 
by  opening  his  veins  in  a  bath,  on  a  charge  of  participa- 
tion in  tlie  conspiracy  of  Piso. 

Not  always  living  up  to  the  teachings  of  the  Stoa,'  to 
which  he  subscribed  in  the  main,  and  free,  neither  in  his 
life' nor  in  his  writings,  from  vanity  and  striving  after  effect, 
Seneca  nevertheless  sought  as  far  as  possible  to  exercise  a 
healthful  influence,  and  showed  not  only  a  rare  versatility 
of  talent,  an  uncommon  wealth  of  thought,  a  fine  faculty 
of  observation,  and  a  sound,  practical  mind,  keeping  itself 
free  from  the  exaggerations  of  the  Stoics,  l)ut  also,  for  that 
time  and  society,  a  surprising  loftiness  of  moral  view.-  In 
this  he  outstrips  his  time,  inasmuch  as  he  both  abandons 
that  which  is  specifically  Roman  and  adopts  a  cosmoj^olitan 
humanity ;  for  which  reason.  Christian  tradition  has  even 
made  him  a  Christian  and  a  friend  of  the  apostle  Paul. 

Seneca's  style, ^  the  antipodes  of  the  Ciceronian,'*  is  forced 
and  ornamental,  according  to  the  taste  of  the  period.  It 
moves,  for  the  most  part,  in  brief,  disconnected,  and  often 
paradoxical  sentences  and  phrases  and  piquant  antitheses. 
The  same  thought  is  forever  varied,  ingeniously  indeed,  Ijut 
not  seldom  to  weariness. 

Of  Seneca's  writings,  which  are  preser\'ed  only  in  part, 
some  are  poetical, •'•  some  prosaic,   and  some  of  the  latter, 

1  This  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  he  had  great  wealth,  was  indulgent 
toward  Nero's  sensuality  (of  necessity,  it  is  true,  and  to  avoid  something 
worse),  and  that  he  excused  the  murder  of  Agrippina. 

2  C.  382;  Mer.  vi.  112,  231 ;   Ritter,  iv.  180. 

3  T.  ii.  42;  C.  390;  Mer.  vii.  225;  Ritter,  iv.  175. 

*  According  to  Quintilian,  Inst.  Orat.  x.  i,  129  :  abuiidaiis  diilcibus  vitiis, 
and  according  to  Caligula's  correct  comparison,  Suet.  Calig.  53 :  arena 
sine  calce. 

5  TragxdicE  (see  p.  89).  Also  a  part  of  the  Apocolocyntosis  (see  p.  93) 
is  in  poetry. 


no  ROMAN   LITERATURE. 

again,  relate  to  natural  science,'  and  some  to  morals.^  Of 
most  general  interest  are  the  124  EpistultE.  ad  Liici/iiim^ 
(see  p.  92),  written,  like  Pliny's  epistles,  with  a  view  to  pub- 
lication ;  they  are,  in  reality,  popular  treatises,  containing  an 
abundance  of  apt  observations  and  rules  of  morals,  as  well  as 
many  characteristic  features  of  life  at  that  time.  A  corre- 
spondence with  the  apostle  Paul  (14  letters),  ascribed  to 
Seneca"^  by  the  church-father  Hieronymus  (about  400),  is  not 
genuine,  but  rests  on  the  correct  perception  that  the  moral 
views  of  Seneca  are  often  aUied  to  those  of  Christianity  in 
a  surprising  degree. 

£?.  — Special    Sciences. 

The  most  important  points  respecting  the  special  sciences 
in  this  period  are  the  following  :  — 

In  Law,  Capito  (see  p.  84)  was  followed  by  Masurius 
Sabinus,^  who  lived  from  Tiberius  to  Nero,  and  was  the 
author  of  a  much  commentated  work,  /ilwi  III  iiiris  civilis. 
Labeo  was  followed  by  the  somewhat  later  Sempronius 
Proculus.  The  two  schools  were  commonly  called,  after 
these  men,  the  Sabinian^  and  the  Proculian."  Both  schools 
had  distinguished  literary  representatives. 

The  Science  of  Language  became  more  and  more  an 
object  of  study  in  connection  with  Rlietoric.  Many  of  the 
emperors  took  a  lively  interest  in  it.  Claudius  had  under 
consideration  a  reform  of  the  alphabet,  and  wished  to  intro- 

1  Naturales  qucesfiones  libri  III,  used  as  a  text-book  in  physics  in  the 
Middle  Ages. 

2  For  example,  de  ira  libri  III,  de  beneficiis  libri  VII,  several  consola- 
tiones,  de  tranquillitate  animi,  and  others.     T.  ii.  46 ;  C.  379. 

3  T.  ii.  45  ;  C.  385.  4  T.  ii.  48  ;  C.  386 ;  Mer.  vi.  230.  5  t.  ii.  27. 
6  Also  Cassian,  from  Cassius  Longinus,  a  pupil  of  Sabinius. 

'  Hadley's  Introd.  to  Roman  Law,  63. 


FOURTH   PERIOD.  Ill 

duce  three  new  letters. ^  Vespasian  appointed  Quintilian  as 
teacher  of  philology. 

The  following  writers  were  distinguished  as  gramma- 
rians and  commentators  :  — 

Q.  Remmius  Palaemo,-  from  Vicenza,  the  author  (un- 
der Claudius)  oi  a  gra/Jimar  which  was  much  used;  Q.  As- 
conius  Pedianus,-^  who  wrote  under  Claudius,  Nero,  and 
Vespasian,  and  from  whom  we  have  commentaries  on  five 
of  Cicero's  orations  (among  them,  pro  Milone),  containing 
valuable  material,  but  not  preserved  entire;  M.  Valerius 
Probus'*  of  Berytus,  about  the  year  60,  a  critical  commen- 
tator, especially  of  the  Roman  classic  poets  ;  under  Domi- 
tian,  iEmilius  Asper  ;  ^  under  Trajan,  Flavjus  Caper '^ 
and  Velius  Longus,  from  both  of  whom  works  de  ortho- 
graphia  are  preser\'ed. 

Among  mathematical  writers,  the  land  surveyors, 
agrimensores,  or  gromatici,"  are  worthy  of  special  mention. 
Of  these  the  most  distinguished  were  Sex.  lulius  Fron- 
tinus^  and  Hyginus.^  Frontinus,  born  about  the  year  40, 
was  consul  three  times,  served  as  general  in  Gaul,  Britain, 
and  Germany,  was  curator  aquarum  in  67,  and  died  about 
103.  Of  his  works  on  surveying  only  extracts  are  pre- 
served. As  curator  aquarum  he  wrote  a  work  entitled  de 
aquis  urbis  Roma  libri  II,  which  is  valuable  for  the  infor- 
mation it  contains.  Hj'ginus  wrote  under  Trajan  a  work 
on  surveying  which  has  been  preserved  only  in  fragments. 
Both  were  also  writers   on    military  subjects,  Frontinus,  as 


1  F=  consonantal  v,  3  antisigma,  for  bs  and/.r,  h  representing  an  inter- 
mediate sound  between  i  and  u.    T.  ii.  38  ;  C.  11. 

2  T.  ii.  29 ;  C.  348.  6  T.  ii.  200 ;  C.  442. 

3  T.  ii.  62 ;  C.  393.  "^  From  gro7na,  a  measuring-staff. 

4  T.  ii.  73  ;  C.  394.  8  T.  ii.  147 ;  C.  410. 
6  T.  ii.  151 ;  C.  412.                          9  T.  ii.  203 ;  C.  442. 


112  ROMAN    LITERATURE. 

author  of  a  lost  work  on  tactics,  and  an  extant  one  of  strate- 
gemata  (military  stratagems),  in  3  books,  together  with  a 
fourth,  strategematica,  as  a  supplement ;  Hyginus,  as  author 
of  a  work  entitled  de  munitionibiis,  and  perhaps  also  of 
another,  de  limiiihiis. 

In  the  department  of  Geography,  may  be  mentioned 
Pomponius  Mela,'  from  Tingentera  in  Spain,  author  of 
the  oldest  Roman  description  of  the  world  that  has  come 
down  to  us.  He  wrote  under  Claudius,  after  older  written 
authorities,  3  books  entitled  dc  situ  orhis  (or  de  chorogra- 
phia) .  To  geographical  Hterature  belong  also,  wholly  or  in 
part,  the  Germania  and  Agricola  of  Tacitus,  the  Natitralcs 
Qiursfiones  of  Seneca,  and  especially  Books  III-VI  of  the 
Natiiralis  Historia  of  C.  Plinius  Secundus'-^  (the  elder 
Pliny).  He  was  born  in  the  year  23  at  Novum  Comum, 
served  in  the  year  45  in  Germany,  was  afterwards  imperial 
procurator  in  Spain,  was  employed  by  Vespasian  as  an  effi- 
cient officer  in  the  financial  and  marine  department,  and 
perished  on  the  24th  of  August,  79,  during  an  eruption  of 
Vesuvius,  as  a  sacrifice  to  his  scientific  zeal.^  He  was  the 
uncle  of  the  younger  Pliny,  and  the  most  industrious  and 
learned  man  of  his  time."*  Besides  his  historical  works  (see 
p.  99),  and  his  writings  on  tactics,  grammar,  and  rhetoric,^ 
which  have  not  come  down  to  us,  he  wrote  the  extant  work, 
Naturalis  Historia,^  in  37  books,  an  encyclopaedia  of  natural 
science,  embracing  astronomy,  geography,  anthropology,  zool- 
ogy, botany,  mineralogy,  and  many  departments  of  medicine. 
This  encyclopaedia,  written  with  the  aid  of  the  works  of  nearly 

1  T.  ii.  64,  i.  7j\  C.  394.  3  Cf.  Plin.  Epp.  vi.  16;  Men  vii.  58. 

2  T.  ii.  102 ;  C.  400.  4  Mer.  vi.  187 ;  vii.  264. 

5  As,  for  example,  de  iaculatione  equestri,  dubii  sermonis  libri  VIII, 
studiosi  libri  III. 

6  T.  i.  72,  ii.  104 ;  C.  404 ;  Mer.  vii.  226. 


FOURTH    PERIOD.  II3 

five  hundred  writers,  representing  nearly  2000  volumes,  is 
an  exceedingly  rich  mine  of  curiosities,  and  contains  almost 
everything  worth  knowing,  though,  to  be  sure,  it  is  often 
enough  crudely  put  together,  and  without  the  critical  care 
which  could  be  desired.  Since  an  abundance  of  material 
was  of  foremost  importance  to  the  author,  the  style  1  is,  for 
the  most  part,  dry,  and  at  times  also  marked  by  rhetorical 
artificiality.  It  is  lofty  in  those  places  where  the  greatness 
and  majesty  of  nature  and  the  universe  are  set  forth,  though 
Pliny  stands  in  opposition  to  the  popular  belief  in  the  gods. 

Of  the  encyclopsedic  work  of  Cornelius  Celsus,-  writ- 
ten in  the  time  of  Tiberius,  there  are  still  extant  8  books  de 
medicina  {de  re  medico),  including  surgery.^'  In  the  same 
work,  the  science  of  war,  agriculture,  rhetoric,  and  practi- 
cal philosophy  wtXQ  also  treated.  Inferior,  from  a  scientific 
and  literary  point  of  view,  is  the  collection  of  prescriptions 
{compositiones  iiiedicamentoruin)  of  Scribonius  Largus,"* 
private  physician  of  the  emperor  Claudius.  Of  these  pre- 
scriptions, 271  are  extant. 

Agriculture,  as  such,  was  treated  by  Moderatus  Colu- 
mella ^  of  Gades,  a  contemporary  and  countryman  of  Sen- 
eca, in  his  work  de  re  ritstica  libri  XII.  The  production 
bears  witness  to  the  author's  technical  knowledge,  candid 
disposition,  and  good  taste.  Of  this  work,  Book  X,  con- 
cerning gardening,  is  written  in  heroic  metre,  after  the  ex- 
ample of  Virgil,  though  by  no  means  equal  to  the  model. 

1  T.  ii.  107 ;  C.  406.  4  T.  ii.  60 ;  C.  393. 

2  T.  ii.  25 ;  C.  347.  5  T.  i.  73.  "•  57  I  C.  392. 
8  T.  i.  74. 


FIFTH    PERIOD. 

The  Later  Empire,  after  the  Death  of  Trajan,  117  a.d. 

THIS  period  is  a  time  of  continual  decline,  both  in  poli- 
tics and  literature.^  The  capacity  for  original  and  in- 
dependent production,  which,  up  to  this  time,  had  appeared 
at  least  in  individual  cases,  ceases  entirely.  In  its  place,  we 
find  uncertainty,  perversity,  and  dulness  of  judgment  and 
taste,  a  slavish  and  unintelligent  imitation  of  earlier  and  es- 
pecially archaic  writers,  an  affected  and  distorted  style,  an 
artificial  rhetoric,  dressed  out  with  wordy  ornamentation,  but 
wanting  any  important  inner  significance  answering  to  the 
lavish  use  of  outward  means.  Instead  of  independent  pro- 
duction, there  appears  a  boastful  and  ostentatious  display  of 
pedantic  and  often  laboriously-gathered  knowledge. 

The  corruption  of  taste  shows  itself,  especially,  in  the 
archaistic  tendency,  which  places  the  classic  standard  authors 
below  the  ante-classic  writers.  The  chief  representative  of 
this  tendency  is  the  rhetorician  Fronto.  As  a  consequence 
of  the  intellectual  barrenness  and  tameness,  and  also  of  the 
persistent  advance  of  Greek  sophism  and  rhetoric,  which 
found  high  favor  and  abundant  reward  in  the  cultured 
circles,^  poetry  comes  to  occupy  a  less  prominent  position 
than  prose. 

The  provinces  become  more  and  more  important  in  the 

1  T.  ii.  205,  337. 

2  Especially  with  a  number  of  the  emperors,  as  Hadrian,  Antoninus  Pius, 
and  Marcus  Aurelius. 

114 


FIFTH   PERIOD.  Il5 

department  of  literature.  A  number  of  miters,  especially 
Christian  writers,  spring  up  in  Africa.  Their  latinity  is  char- 
acterized by  a  want  of  logical  accuracy,  by  intemperateness 
of  expression,  rhetorical  overloading,  and  an  arbitrary  con- 
struction of  words  and  sentences.  Moreover,  Gaul,  expe- 
cially  Lugdunum  (Lyon),  becomes  an  important  seat  of 
rhetorical  instruction. 

Whereas  the  earlier  emperors  of  this  period,  as  Hadrian 
and  Marcus  Aurelius,  and  also  Alexander  Severus,  took  a 
lively  interest  in  literature,  it  was  compelled,  in  consequence 
of  the  political  confusion  of  the  third  century,  to  retire  into 
the  background. 

Not  until  after  the  triumph  of  Christianity,  and  the  recon- 
struction of  the  empire  by  Constantine  the  Great,  did  more 
important  writers.  Christian  as  well  as  Pagan,  appear.  Mean- 
while, the  specifically  Roman  character  was  steadil}'  dying  out, 
especially  since,  by  the  edict  of  Caracalla,  which  extended 
the  right  of  Roman  citizenship  to  the  provinces,  universal 
equality  was  being  furthered  through  the  agency  of  the  state. 
Literary  production  took  refuge,  pardy  in  the  bosom  of  the 
Christian  church,  and  thus  became  the  property  of  the  Chris- 
tian clerg}''  (patristic  literature),  partly  at  the  court,  where, 
without  free,  ideal  movement,  it  was  compelled  to  yield  itself 
to  the  service  of  special,  practical  ends,  particularly  the  glori- 
fication of  the  emperors  (panegyric  literature),  and  the  ex- 
tension of  legal  learning.  This  period,  if  one  considers  at 
the  same  time  content  and  form,  produced  scarcely  a  wTiter 
of  the  first  or  even  of  the  second  rank  ;  on  the  other  hand, 
in  the  special  sciences,  particularly  in  the  Department  of 
Jurisprudence,  important,  and  in  some  respects  great  and 
standard  work,  was  done. 

1  T.  ii.  468. 


Il6  ROMAN   LITERATURE. 

I.  POETRY. 

a.  —  Lyric. 

Lyric  poetry  is  represented  in  this  period  by  only  a  few 
names  worthy  of  mention.  Of  uncertain  date  is  the  Pervigi- 
lium Veneris}  a  glorification  of  Venus  Genetrix  and  of  Spring, 
in  93  well-constructed  trochaic  septenarii.  Half  lyric,  half 
epic,  are  the  poems  of  Dec.  Magnus  Ausonius^  of 
Burdigala  (Bordeaux),  in  Gaul ;  a  poet  of  fine  parts,  and  es- 
pecially successful  in  the  form  of  his  verse.  He  was  a  teacher 
of  the  emperor  Gratianus,  became  consul  in  379,  and  was 
converted  to  Christianity,  though  he  made  little  use  of  it  in 
his  writings.  In  his  later  years,  he  lived  under  Theodosius  I  in 
his  native  place,  absorbed  in  literary  pursuits.  His  poems  are 
very  varied  in  form  and  content ;  epigrams  and  epistles;  poems 
on  living  and  deceased  persons  ;  on  emperors  and  celebrated 
cities.  His  idylls  are  best  known,  and  among  these,  the 
tenth,  entitled  Mosella,  a  description  of  a  journey  on  the 
Moselle,  from  Bingen  to  Trier,  in  683  hexameters,  charming 
on  account  of  the  variedness  of  its  contents,  and  the  sensi- 
tive appreciation  of  nature  displayed  in  it. 

Among  poets  specifically  Christian,  special  mention  should 
be  made  of  Aurelius  Prudentius  Clemens,^  who  was 
born  in  Spain  in  348,  was  a  rhetorician  and  high  official,  and 
died  about  the  year  410.  He  composed  odes  in  praise  of 
the  martxrs,  and  hymns  in  Horatian  metres  ;  also  dogmatic, 
polemic,  and  epic  poems. 


1  T.  ii.  247 ;  C.  468. 

2  T.  ii.  385. 

3  T.  ii.  431;  Trench,  121;   Schaff:  History  of  the  Christian  Church,  iii. 
594 ;  Ozonam  :  Civilization  in  the  Fifth  Century,  ii.  196. 


FIFTH    PERIOD.  II7 


fe.  — Epic. 


Epic  poetry  in  this  period  is  partly  mythological,  partly 
employed  for  panegyrics,  —  poems  in  praise  of  emperors  and 
other  persons  in  high  standing,  together  with  corresponding 
depreciation  of  their  opponents.  Claudius  Claudianus  ^  of 
Alexandria  is,  for  his  time,  a  brilliant  representative  of  both 
styles.  He  composed,  about  the  year  400,  numerous  poems, 
some  on  historical  subjects;-  some  on  mythological^  also 
epistles,  idylls,  and  epigrams,  mostly  in  elegiac  metre.  There 
appears  everywhere  great  skill  in  the  treatment  of  the  form, 
vivid  imagination,  extended  acquaintance  with  the  classic 
poets,  and  enthusiasm  for  the  greatness  of  Roiiie  ;  but  these 
excellences  are  dimmed  and  injured  in  their  effect  by  the 
insignificance  of  the  material,  which  the  poet  endeavors  in 
vain  to  conceal  and  make  good  by  rhetorical  exaggeration. 

Less  important  than  the  pagan  Claudianus  are  the  Chris- 
tian poets  :  — 

C.  Vettius  Aquilius  luvencus,^  Spanish  presbyter  in 
the  time  of  Constantine  the  Great,  and  author  of  a  Neto 
Testament  History  in  hexameters ;  Flavius  Merobau- 
des,^  Spanish  rhetorician,  and  author  of  a  poem  on  Christ, 
and  of  historical  poems  in  praise,  especially,  of  the  comman- 
der, yEtii/s ;  Apollinaris  Sidonius^  (about  430-488), 
from  Lugdunum,  bishop  of  Clermont,  and  writer  oi panegyrics 
on  several  of  the  et?tperors,  abounding  in  pedantic  phrase- 


1  T.  ii.  438  ;  Ozonam,  i.  170. 

2  For  example,  poems  in  praise  of  the  emperor  Honorius,  and  especially 
of  Stilicho,  with  attacks  upon  the  minister  Rufinus  and  the  eunuch  Eutro- 
pius  in  Constantinople.  The  poems  are  written  without  any  essential  warp- 
ing of  the  facts. 

3  Three  books  de  raptu  Proserpince. 

4  T.  ii.  346.  5  T.  ii.  490.  6  x.  ii.  499 


Il8  -  ROMAN    LITERATURE. 

ology;  Dracontius^  of  Carthage,  author  of  mythological 
epics,  also  of  a  didactic  poem,  de  deo,  and  others ;  Venan- 
tius  Fortunatus,-  in  the  sixth  century,  bishop  of  Poitiers, 
and  writer  of  an  epic  in  honor  of  St.  Martin  of  Tours,  and 
numerous  poems  in  praise  of  persons  in  high  standing. 

c— Didactic. 

In  Didactic  and  Descriptive  Poetry,  the  following 
names  are  worthy  of  mention  :  Nemesianus-^  of  Carthage 
(about  280),  writer  of  a  didactic  poem  on  hunting  entitled 
Cynegetica ;  Festus  Avienus**  (about  370),  writer  of 
poems  on  astronomical,  historical,  and  especially  geographi- 
cal subjects ;  particularly,  however,  Claudius  Rutilius 
Namatianus,^  a  native  of  Gaul,  who  was  prgefectus  urbi 
in  414,  and  who,  in  416,  described  his  homeward  sea- 
voyage  from  Rome  to  Gaul^  in  a  charming  style,  orna- 
mented with  numerous  episodes  of  a  descriptive  and 
personal  character.  The  poet  is  an  enthusiastic  adherent 
of  ancient  Rome  ^  and  the  old  Pagan  religion,  and  a  de- 
cided enemy  of  Jews  ^  and  Christians.^ 

1  T.  li.  519.  2  X.  ii.  563;  Trench,  131 ;  ScTiaff,  iii.  595. 

8  T.  ii.  308.  •»  T.  ii.  382.  5  T.  ii.  470. 

6  De  reditu  suo  libri  II,  of  which  tlie  second  book  has  not  been  pre- 
served entire. 

''  Cf.  i.  47-164 ;  especially  verse  53,  seq  : 

Obruerint  citius  scelerata  oblivia  solem, 
Quam  tuus  ex  nostro  corde  recedat  honos. 


and  81,  seq : 

8  i.  397,  seq : 

9  i.  525,  seq: 


Omnia  perpetuo  quae  servant  sidera  motu. 
Nullum  viderunt  pulchrius  imperium. 

Latis  excisae  pestis  contagia  serpunt 
Victoresque  suos  natio  victa  premit. 

Non  rogo  deterior  Circeis  secta  venenis? 
Tunc  mutabantur  corpora,  nunc  animi. 


FIFTH    PERIOD.  II9 

A  collection  of  Fables,  afterwards  much  used  as  a 
school-book,  is  that  of  Avianus,i  who,  about  the  year  400, 
reproduced  42  ^sopian  fables  in  elegiac  verse,  after  the 
model  of  ^sop,  Babrius,  Ph^edrus,  and  others. 


II.    PROSE. 

a.  —Oratory. 

Rhetoric,  with  Cornelius  Fronto-  as  its  most  able  and 
illustrious  representative,  stood  for  a  long  time  foremost  in 
the  estimation  of  the  public.  Fronto  was  born  at  Cirta  in 
Africa,  lived  about  100-175,  became  consul  in  143,  was 
the  teacher  and  friend  of  the  emperor  Marcus  Aurelius. 
He  was  affectionate  (^tAooropyos)  and  sincere  in  disposi- 
tion, in  his  literary  efforts  and  productions  the  type  of  a 
period  spending  itself  in  complacent  speechifying.  Of  his 
writings  we  possess  some  works  on  rhetorical  subjects,  and 
also  some  letters^  the  latter,  for  the  most  part,  unimportant 
in  subject-matter. 

Fronto  lays  all  the  stress  upon  rhetoric,  to  be  sure,  with 
a  sincere  belief  in  it  alone  as  a  saving  power.  In  respect 
to  language,  Fronto  is  a  worshipper  of  the  most  ancient 
ante-classical  writers  and  orators,  —  of  Plautus,  Ennius, 
Cato,  C.  Gracchus,  —  and  also  of  Sallust.  He  recognizes 
Cicero  with  reluctance.'*  With  him,  as  we  have  said,  the 
entire  value  lies  in  rhetorical  ornamentation   (et^ores,  verba 

1  T.  ii.  462.  2  'p  j_  jg  ij   22Q ;  C.  463;   Mer.  vii.  460. 

3  Correspondence  with  Marcus  Aurelius,  L.  Verus,  Antoninus  Pius  and 
ad  amicos ;  also  letters  in  Greek. 

*  For  example,  he  characterizes  the  orators  thus,  ad  Verum  Impcrat: 
Contionatur  Cato  infeste,  Gracchus  turbulente,  Tullius  copiose;  in  iudiciis 
saevit  Cato,  triumphal  Cicero,  tumultuatur  Gracchus,  Calvus  rixatur. 


ISO  ROMAN   LITERATURE. 

notabilia,  deminutiva,  and  the  like).  But  just  this  artificial- 
ity and  corruption  of  taste  seemed  to  his  contemporaries  the 
highest  excellence. 

Another  distinguished  African  rhetorician  was  L.  Apu- 
leius'  of  Madaura,  born  about  125,  who  was,  at  one  time 
and  another,  active  in  many  places  as  a  rhetorician  and  an 
advocate,  and  was  also  celebrated  as  a  magician.  As  a 
writer,  he  was  very  versatile,  productive,  and  pretentious  ; 
his  style  is  original,  full  of  needless  word-coinings  and 
strange  distortions  of  sentences,  bombastic  and  overloaded, 
yet  of  a  drastic  \ividness  and  not  without  pleasing  humor. 
The  best  known  of  his  writings  is  the  fantastic  romance, 
Metamorphoseon  libri  XI,~  which  contains  the  experiences 
of  a  man  who  was  changed  by  magic  arts  into  an  ass, 
together  with  many  stories  of  robbers  and  necromancy,  of 
which  Thessaly  is  most  frequently  the  scene,  all  ending 
in  the  glorification  of  the  Isis  mysteries.  The  whole  is  imi- 
tated from  the  AouKtos  of  Lucian,  only  it  is  carried  much 
further,  and  changes  are  made  that  are  not  always  fortunate. 
Books  IV-VI  contain  the  well-known  (allegoric  ?)  legend  of 
Amor  and  Psyche.  Of  the  remaining  writings  of  Apuleius, 
the  following  deserve  to  be  mentioned  :  Apologia,  a  defence 
against  the  charge  of  necromancy,  written  in  a  comparatively 
simple  style ;  and  Florida,  an  anthology  of  orations  and 
declamations. 

As  a  rhetorician  of  the  later  time,  may  be  mentioned  Q. 
Aurelius  Symmachus  the  Younger,^  consul  in  391,  of 
whom  we  possess  9  orations  (not  one,  however,  in  complete 
form),  some  of  which  were  delivered  in  the  Senate,  and 
some  were  panegyrics  on  the  emperor  Valentinian  I  and  Gra- 
tian.     We  also  have  a  collection  of  epistles  in    10   books, 

1  T.  ii.  257  ;  C.  469.  2  T.  ii.  261 ;  C.  471.  »  T.  ii.  397. 


FIFTH    PERIOD.  121 

composed  after  the  model  of  the  younger  Pliny,  in  which  the 
letters  of  the  tenth  book  are  the  most  interesting,  wherein 
Symmachus,  in  the  year  384,  intercedes  with  the  emperor 
Valentinian  II  for  the  restoration  of  the  altar  of  Victoria  to  the 
Roman  curia,  whence  it  had  been  removed  at  the  command  of 
Gratian  ;  —  that  is,  he  interested  himself  in  the  maintainance 
of  heathen  worship,  —  an  endeavor  which  was  not  successful, 
serving  only  to  call  out  several  controversial  writings  on  the 
side  of  the  Christians  ;  for  example,  from  Bishop  Ambrosius 
of  Milan. 

b.  — Philosophy. 

Although  philosophy  was  opposed  by  rhetoricians  like 
Fronto,  yet  it  was  furthered  by  several  emperors,  especially 
by  the  Antonines,  and  in  the  person  of  the  strict  Stoic,  Mar- 
cus Aurelius,'  who  wrote  in  the  Greek  language  12  books 
o{  Self- Examinations  (eis  auroi'),  even  attained  to  the  im- 
perial throne.  Nevertheless,  it  could  no  longer  develop  a 
strong  and  healthy  life  ;  it  degenerated  often  into  obscure 
mysticism  and  vain  love  of  the  marvellous,  as  in  the  case  of 
Apuleius  (see  p.  120)  who  wrote  philosophical  books  de 
tnundo,  de  deo  Socratis,  and  others. 

In  Christianity,  there  grew  up  against  this  a  new  and  vig- 
orous opponent,  which,  indeed,  often  made  use  of  the 
weapons  of  pagan  philosophy  and  rhetoric.  By  this  opposi- 
tion many  energetic  spirits  were  spurred  on  to  the  attempt  of 
renewing  philosophy,  among  them  Anicius  Manlius  Tor- 
quatus  Severinus  BoetiuSj^the  son-in-law  of  Symmachus, 
(see  p.  120)  consul  in  510,  and  executed  in  525  at  the  com- 
mand of  the  Ostrogothic  king  Theodoric,  on  the  charge  of 


1  Farrar  :  Seekers  after  God,  303  ;  Mar.  vii.  490;  T.  i.  69. 
*  T.  ii.  525 ;  Milman's  Latin  Christianity,  i.  443. 


122  ROMAN    LITERATURE. 

traitorous  connections  with  the  court  of  Constantinople.  Al- 
though a  Christian,  he  was  enthusiastic  for  classical  antiquity, 
a  translator  of  many  works,  particularly  those  of  Aristotle. 
He  wrote  inatlicmafiial,  grammatical,  and  other  works,  but 
he  is  chiefly  known  through  his  ik  consolatione,  composed  in 
prison,  and  testifying  in  somewhat  involved,  yet  easily  intelli- 
gible language,  written  alternately  in  prose  and  verses  of 
various  metres,  to  a  mind  morally  refined,  permeated  much 
more  by  the  spirit  of  ancient  philosophy,  especially  of  Plato, 
than  by  that  of  Christianity.  Also,  theological  writings,  as, 
for  example,  a  work  on  the  Trinity,  are  incorrectly  ascribed 
to  Boetius. 

c  — History. 

There  were  numerous  writers  of  history  in  this  period,  but 
the  freedom  of  thought  and  word  necessary  for  a  lofty  flight 
was  wanting ;  the  influence  of  rhetoric  asserted  itself  in  this 
department  of  literature  as  in  all  others. ^  In  place  of  objec- 
tive arrangement  and  choice  of  material,  of  psychological 
treatment,  of  broad  and  comprehensive  views,  appeared  an 
undue  attention  to  what  was  merely  personal,  a  biographical 
treatment  of  history,  with  an  uncritical  preference  for  the 
insignificant  and  for  anecdotes,  and  an  enumeration  of 
details  not  seldom  amounting  to  frivolity.  The  ancient  his- 
torians were  made  accessible  and  enjoyable  to  the  taste  of 
the  public  through  compendia.  With  the  triumph  of  Chris- 
tianity, historical  \vriting  turned  its  attention  more  and  more 
to  biblical  and  ecclesiastical  matters. 

C.  Suetonius  Tranquillus,-  born  about  the  year  75, 
wrote  a  part  of  his  works  as  far  back  as  the  reign  of  Trajan. 
He  was  a  rhetorician  and  an  advocate  ;  for  a  long  time,  also, 

1  T.  i.  46.  *  T.  ii.  210 ;  C.  457. 


FIFTH    PERIOD.  1 23 

private  secretary  of  the  emperor  Hadrian,  who,  however, 
dismissed  him,  whereupon  he  devoted  himself  to  study  and 
authorship  in  the  most  widely-separated  departments,  history 
of  civilization,  science  of  language,  chronology,  and  the  like. 
From  his  writings^  have  been  preserved  fragments  of  the 
work  de  viris  illiistrihus,  concerning  literary  celebrities  of 
Rome  up  to  the  time  of  Domitian  ;  among  these  fragments 
the  vita  of  Terence  and  Horace  are  important,  but  especially 
the  vita  Caesarum,-  written  in  1 20,  consisting  of  biographies 
of  the  first  twelve  emperors,  from  Caesar  (the  beginning  of 
whose  reign  seems,  however,  to  be  wanting)  to  Domitian. 
This  work  is  very  valuable  in  subject-matter,  carefully  com- 
posed, with  an  extensive  use  of  authorities,  and  a  striving 
after  objectivity.  In  consequence,  however,  of  the  interest 
attaching  to  the  subject-matter  itself,  anecdotes  and  person- 
alities prevail ;  also  things  insignificant  and  low  are  not 
passed  by  unnoticed,  and  in  view  of  the  division  of  the  sub- 
ject according  to  certain  headings  (such  as  faults,  virtues, 
outward  habits,  and  the  like),  the  chronological  order,  as 
well  as  the  inner  connection,  and  especially  the  psychologi- 
cal arrangement,  are  neglected.  The  language  is  simple, 
natural,  and  easily  understood."^ 

The  following  historians  stand  at  a  considerable  distance 
below  Suetonius  :  — 

Florus'*  wrote,  probably  under  Hadrian,  bellorinn  om- 
nium anno  rum  DCC  libri  II,  Roman  history  from  Romulus 
to  Augustus,  arranged,  generally,  according  to  the  wars, 
without  strict  chronology,  and  with  many  errors  as  to  matters 
of  fact.  Anachronisms,  not  to  say  designed  falsifications, 
appear,  and,  worst  of  all,  a  tasteless  and  artificial  teleology  in 

1  T.  ii.  214;  C.  459.  -  Mer.  vii.  248.  ^  C.  460. 

4  Possibly  identical  with  the  poet  and  rhetorician,  P.  Annius  Florus. 
T.  ii.  216 ;  C.  462. 


124  ROMAN   LITERATURE. 

tnaiorem  gloriam  populi  Romani.  At  the  same  time,  he 
betrays  a  complete  lack  of  historical  insight  and  psychologi- 
cal apprehension.  The  style  is  rhetorically  overloaded,  full 
of  stereotyped  words  and  phrases,  sometimes,  however,  in 
clear  moments,  picturesque  and  to  the  point. 

A  certain  L.  Ampelius,i  otherwise  unknown,  wrote  under 
Antoninus  Pius,  a  dry  encyclopaedic  manual,  entitled  liber 
inemorialis,  on  geographical,  mythological,  and  especially 
historical  subjects. 

We  possess  only  fragments  of  the  work  of  his  contem- 
porary, Granius  Licinianus,  who  wrote  an  outline  of 
Roman  history.  The  writings  of  Marius  Maximus^  are 
entirely  lost.  He  wrote,  about  the  year  230,  biographies  of 
the  emperors  from  Nerva  to  Heliogabalus,  and  was  much 
used  by  later  writers,  especially  by  the  scriptores  histo- 
riae  Augustae,-^  some  of  whom,  as  ^lius  Spartianus,  Volca- 
cius  Gallicanus,  and  Trebellius  Pollio,  wrote  under  Diocletian, 
and  some,  as  Flavius  Vopiscus,  ^lius  Lampridius,  and  luHus 
Capitolinus,  under  Constantine  the  Great.  Their  work  (it  is 
uncertain  when  and  by  whom  it  was  collected)  contained 
the  biographies  of  the  emperors,  from  Hadrian  to  Numerian 
(117-284),  written  in  monotonous  style,  in  halting  language, 
moving  on  generally  in  short  sentences,  without  a  proper 
separation  of  the  important  and  the  insignificant,  and  with- 
out an  arrangement  suited  to  the  subject.  Nevertheless,  it 
is  very  valuable  for  the  history  of  this  period  on  account  of 
the  lack  of  other  authorities.  The  authorship  of  all  the 
biographies  is  not  certain ;  the  most  are  by  Spartianus  and 
Vopiscus. 

Several  works  bear  the  name  of  Aurelius  Victor,^  who 
was  governor  of  Pannonia  under  Theodosius  the  Great :  de 

1  T.  ii.  239;  C.  468.  2  T.  ii.  296.  s  t.  ii.  320.  «  T.  ii.  370. 


FIFTH   PERIOD.  1 25 

CiBsaribus,  from  Caesar  to  Constantine,  an  uncritical  collection 
of  material  in  an  excessively  compact  style  ;  also  an  epitome  de 
Ccesaribus,  which  deviates  in  many  ways  from  the  original, 
and  extends  further,  reaching  to  the  time  of  I'heodosius 
the  Great ;  moreover,  it  depends  upon  other  authorities, 
and,  on  the  whole,  is  more  easily  understood  than  the  de 
Csesaribus.  Both  productions  are,  perhaps,  compendia 
of  a  larger  work  of  Aurelius  Victor.  Of  unknown  author- 
ship are  two  other  writings,  which  likewise  bear  his  name  : 
de  viris  illustribus,  covering  the  period  from  Procas  to 
Cleopatra,  and  written  with  general  good  sense  ;  and  origo 
gentis  Romance,  from  Saturn  to  the  death  of  Romulus,  a 
silly  production  having  not  the  least  value. 

To  the  same  time  with  Aurelius  Victor  belongs  Eutro- 
pius,'  who  wrote,  under  Valens,  d.  brcviarium  hi sforia  Ro- 
mance, in  10  books,  covering  the  period  from  the  foundation 
of  Rome  to  the  time  of  Jovian.  It  is,  in  general,  unpretentious 
and  true  to  facts  ;  but,  in  the  earlier  books,  it  is  dry  and  be- 
trays a  total  neglect  of  the  inner  relations  of  things  ;  in 
depicting  the  time  of  the  emperors,  however,  it  is  fuller  and 
fresher,  containing  many  good  characterizations.-  The  work 
was  afterwards  much  used  as  a  school-book. 

The  work  of  Ammianus  Marcellinus^  is  valuable  as 
an  historical  authority.  He  was  born  in  Antiochia ;  after 
long  service  in  the  army,  he  wrote,  about  the  year  390,  at 
Rome,  31  books  rerum  gestarum,  in  which  the  period  from 
Nerva  to  Valens  was  described.  Only  Books  XIV-XXXI 
are  extant,  embracing  the  time  353-376.  Ammianus,  as 
an  enthusiastic  worshipper  of  Julian  the  Apostate,  writes  from 

1  T.  ii.  372. 

2  For  example,  that  of  Trajan,  viii.  4  ;  that  of  Constantine  the  Great,  x, 
7;  that  of  Julian,  x.  16. 

8  T.  ii.  407. 


126  ROMAN   LITERATURE. 

a  pagan  standpoint  with  impartiality  and  fidelity  to  the  truth. 
His  intentions  are  honorable  and  his  judgment  good,  and  he 
often  writes  from  a  recollection  of  what  he  himself  has  seen 
and  experienced.  His  style,  on  the  contrary,  is  forbidding 
and  unenjoyable  on  account  of  its  excessive  condensation 
and  affectation.  This  was  the  result  of  wide  reading  without 
proper  digestion,  of  an  attempt  to  utilize  his  extensive  collec- 
tion of  notes,  and  of  an  unripe  half-culture,  comprehending 
least  of  all  the  spirit  of  the  Latin  language. 

Works  were  written  from  the  standpoint  of  Christianity 
by  the  Aquitanian  presbyter  Sulpicius  Severus  ^  (about 
400),  and  his  contemporary,  the  Spanish  presbyter  Oro- 
sius,~  who  wrote  outlines  of  universal  history,  from  Adam 
down  to  their  time.  Both  works  are  without  special  value. 
Further,  Magnus  Aurelius  Cassiodorius^^  (-orus?), 
who  lived  from  480  to  575,  and  was  private  secretary  of 
Theodoric,  and  in  the  year  540  and  afterwards  was  in 
the  Bruttian  monastery,  Viviers,  wrote  a  chronicle  from 
Adam  down  to  ^ig  A.D.;  also,  a  history  of  the  Goths,  pre- 
served, unfortunately,  only  in  the  scanty  epitome  of  the 
Goth  lordanis''  (about  550);  and  12  books  variarum,  a 
collection  of  official  documents,  as  well  as  numerous  theo- 
logical and  encyclopmdic  works. 

The  Briton  Gildas  ^  wrote,  in  the  sixth  century,  a  History 
of  Britain,  from  449  a.d.  ;  and  a  History  of  the  Kingdom  of 
the  Franks  was  written  by  Gregorius  of  Tours  (Bishop  in 
573  and  afterwards)  with  a  mind  open  to  historical  truth,  in 
spite  of  his  orthodox  prejudices. 

An  important  authority  for  the  statistics  of  the  later  Roman 
Empire  are  the  official  state  records,  written  at  the  close  of 


1  T.  ii.  448.  3  T.  ii.  539-  ^  T.  ii.  549. 

2  T.  ii.  47a.  *  T.  ii.  547. 


FIFTH    PERIOD.  I  27 

the  fourth  century,  and  entitled,  Notitia  dignitattim  et  admin- 
istrationuin  omnium  tain  civiliuni  quam  militarium  in  parti- 
bus  orientis  et  occidentis} 


c?.  —  Special    Sciences. 

Among  the  special  sciences,  that  of  Law-  occupies  the 
foremost  place.  From  the  outset  a  national  Roman  science, 
it  attained  its  highest  development  under  the  emperors,  from 
Hadrian's  time  to  about  the  year  230.  Civil  law  was  admira- 
bly set  forth  by  the  eminent  jurists,  who  lived,  for  the  most 
part,  at  the  imperial  court,  and  were  held  in  great  esteem, 
while  their  opinions,  decisions  i^responsa),  and  manuals 
became  standard  in  the  administration  of  justice.  Thus, 
after  legal  productions  ceased  about  the  middle  of  the  third 
century,  there  arose  in  their  place,  in  the  fourth  century,  an 
active  zeal  for  collecting  and  codifying  the  existing  legal 
authorities. 

The  most  important  jurists  are  given  below :  Salvius 
lulianus,"^  aside  from  independent  works,  compiled  and 
published,  under  Hadrian,  in  the  year  131,  the  so-called 
E  die  turn  peipetuum.  This  was  a  collection  of  opinions  of  the 
Roman  praetors,  from  the  time  of  the  Republic,  and  a  weighty 
legal  authority  in  later  times.  His  contemporary,  Sex. 
Pomponius,  was  the  author  of  numerous  works,  which 
were  afterwards  much  used.  The  four  books  Institutionum 
(introduction  to  the  science  of  law),  which  were  writ- 
ten by  Gaius"*  about  the  year  160,  and  are,  in  great  part, 
preserved,  were  much  used  as  a  text-book.  They  became 
the  basis  of  the  Institutions  of  Justinian.     Two  other  very 

1  T.  i.  78. 

■-  Sandars' Justinian  :  Introd.  ao,  Am.  Ed. ;  T.  i.  64;   Hadley. 

3  T.  ii.  219;  C.  462.  ■*  T.  ii.  244;  C.  466 ;   Hadley,  71. 


128  ROMAN    LITERATURE. 

important  jurists  were  iEmilius  Papinianus^  and  Do- 
mitius  Ulpianus.-  The  former,  praefectus  praetorio  under 
Septimius  Severus,  and  afterwards  executed  by  command  of 
Caracalla,  was  the  author  of  much-used  responsa  and  quas- 
tiones.  He  was  distinguished  by  great  breadth  of  views,  in- 
dependence of  apprehension,  and  strong  moral  sensibiHty. 
Ulpianus,  a  native  of  Tyre,  praefectus  praetorio  under  Alex- 
ander Severus,  and  assassinated  in  228,  was  the  author  of 
numerous  writings,  which  are  much  cited  in  the  Justinian 
Digests.  lulius  PauluSj^a  contemporary  of  Ulpianus,  was 
active  in  the  same  line,  and  his  writings  were  much  used, 
especially  in  the  Pandects  of  Justinian.  Herennius  Mo- 
destinus,'*  a  pupil  of  Ulpianus,  may  also  be  mentioned. 

Among  the  collections  of  those  constitutions  which  origi- 
nated during  the  time  from  Hadrian  to  Diocletian,  the  first 
was  the  Codex  Gregorianus,^  which  was  begun  by  a  jurist 
Gregorianus ;  then  followed  the  Codex  Hermogenianus 
in  the  last  part  of  the  reign  of  Constantine  the  Great,  and,  at 
the  same  time,  the  Fragmenta  Vaticana,*^  About  a  hun- 
dred years  later  (438)  appeared  the  Codex  Theodosi- 
anus,^  which  contained,  in  16  books,  the  constitutions  that 
had  been  published  under  Constantine  the  Great,  and  which 
was  afterwards  the  standard  in  the  eastern  empire  until  the 
Codex  of  Justinian.  Finally,  the  key-stone  of  this  imposing 
legal  structure  was  the  Corpus  luris,^  which  was  prepared 
in  the  reign  of  Justinian  by  a  commission  of  jurists,  at  whose 
head  stood  Tribonianus.  The  separate  parts  of  this  Corpus 
luris  are  as  follows  :  The  Codex  lustinianeus  of  the  year 

1  T.  ii.  268;  Hadley,  11.  5  t.  ii.  325. 

2  T.  ii.  283 ;  Hadley,  10.  6  t.  ii.  348. 
«  T.  ii.  287.                                                     7  T.  ii.  485. 

*  T.  ii.  289. 

*  T.  ii.  553;  Hadley,  3;  Sandars,23;  Milman's  Latin  Christianity,  i.  484, 


FIFTH    PERIOD.  I  29 

529;  the  Institutiones,  taking  the  place  of  the  original 
Cod.  lust.,  in  533  ;  the  Digesta,  or  Pandects,'  and  an  en- 
larged edition  of  the  Cod.  lust,  from  the  year  534.  To  these 
were  added,  after  the  death  of  Justinian,  three  private  collec- 
tions. Novelise,  written  mostly  in  Greek.  This  Corpus 
luris  made  the  earlier  writings  superfluous  by  absorbing 
them,  so  far  as  their  essential  contents  were  concerned, 
established  the  final  stability  and  uniformity  of  law,  and 
served  ever  after  as  a  foundation  for  its  later  unfolding 
and  development. 

Of  the  remaining  special  sciences,  Philology  and  Ar- 
chaeology -  vvere  most  cultivated.  Under  Hadrian,  Anto- 
ninus Pius,  and  Marcus  Aurelius,  the  learned  men  in  this 
department,  especially  those  of  Fronto's  school,  were  highly 
respected  and  well  paid.  Nevertheless,  independence,  cer- 
tainty, and  correctness  of  judgment  began  to  disappear,  and 
the  process  of  making  compendia  and  plundering  from  older 
works  was  carried  on  more  widely,  yet  often  without  taste 
and  critical  care,  with  the  one-sided,  more  or  less  perfunctory 
purpose  of  accumulating  materials  and  getting  a  collection  of 
notes.  The  outcome  of  this  activity  was,  partly  encyclo- 
paedic collections  and  compilations  of  all  kinds  of  antiquarian 
notes,  partly  elementary  books  on  grammar,  metre,  orthog- 
raphy, lexicography,  and  partly  commentaries  on  the  earlier 
poets,  particularly  Virgil. 

The  following  names  are  especially  worthy  of  mention  :  — 

I.    Compilers :    Aulus    Gellius,^    born    about    130, 

studied  in  Athens,  and  lived  afterwards  in  Rome.    He  made 

it  his  life-work  to  make  compilations  from  the  older  writers, 

and  he  put  the  results  of  his  long,  industrious  studies  into  the 


1  Excerpts  from  the  most  distinguished  jurists,  in  50  books. 

2  T.  i.51.  3  T.  ii.2S4;  C.465. 


130  ROMAN    LITERATURE. 

20  books  Nodes  Atticce}  which  (except  Book  VIII)  are  ex- 
tant, and  embrace  language,  literature,  jurisprudence,  phil- 
osophy, and  natural  science.  GelUus  appears  in  the  work  as 
a  pedant,  of  no  independent  judgment,  giving  himself  com- 
pletely to  his  work ;  but,  so  far  as  the  material  is  concerned, 
his  compilation  is  very  valuable  to  us,  —  all  the  more,  inas- 
much as  some  of  the  authorities  used  and  cited  by  him  have 
not  come  down  to  us. 

About  the  year  280,  Nonius  Marcellus,-  probably  from 
Africa,  wrote  a  lexical  work  entitled,  compendiosa  doctrina 
per  literas,  which  shows,  to  be  sure,  very  little  judgment  and 
knowledge,  but  which  has  some  value  on  account  of  its 
citations. 

About  the  year  400,  a  similar  compilation  to  that  of  Gel- 
lius  was  prepared  by  Macrobius  Theodosius,-'  in  his  7 
books  Saturnalia.'^  He  made  a  liberal  use  of  Gellius'  work, 
and  discussed  the  most  widely-separated  subjects,  in  par- 
ticular the  peculiarities  of  Virgil.  Moreover,  we  have  a 
commentary  by  Macrobius  on  Cicero's  Somnium  Scipionis^ 
which  is  thus  preserved  to  us. 

Martianus  Capella/'  from  Madaura  in  Africa,  a  country- 
man of  Apuleius  and  related  to  him  in  style,  wrote  about  the 
year  430  an  encyclopaedic  work,  partly  in  prose,  and  partly 
in  verse,  after  the  model  of  Varro.  He  made,  moreover, 
free  use  of  Varro  as  an  authority  for  the  content  of  his  work. 
After  describing,  in  Books  I  and  II,  the  wedding  of  Mercury 


1  So  called,  because  the  work  was  begun  in  Attica  during  the  long  win- 
ter nights.  2  T_  ii_  214. 

3  He  filled  high  offices,  and,  in  his  later  years,  probably  became  a 
Christian.    T.  ii.  452. 

■*  The  name  comes  from  the  fact  that  the  form  chosen  for  the  work  is 
that  of  a  conversation  held  during  the  Saturnalia. 

6  From  de  repub.  VI.  6  T.  ii.  464. 


FIFTH    PERIOD.  I3I 

cind  Philologia,  he  treats,  in  Books  III-IX,  of  the  seven  artes 
liberales,  —  gi-ammar,  dialectics,  rhetoric  (the  trivium  of  the 
Middle  Ages),  geometry,  arithmetic,  astronomy,  and  music 
(the  quadrivium).  The  work  was  very  frequently  used  in 
the  Middle  Ages  as  a  school-book. 

2.  W^riters  of  text-books  and  commentaries 
(commentarii) :  Terentius  Scaurus.^  author  (under  Had- 
rian) of  a  Latin  Gramniar  and  a  treatise  on  poetry,  be- 
sides several  commentarii ;  only  the  work  de  orthographia  is 
extant;  C.  Sulpicius  Apollinaris-  of  Carthage,  teacher 
of  Gellius,  and  writer  of  quastioncs  epistolicce ;  Helenius 
Aero, "^  who  wrote  about  the  year  200,  commentaries  on  Ter- 
ence, Horace,  and  Persius  ;  on  the  other  hand,  the  collection 
of  scholia  on  Horace,  bearing  Acro's  name,  is  from  the  sev- 
enth century ;  Pomponius  Porphyrio  (about  200-250), 
writer  of  still  extant  scholia  on  Horace ;  Plotius  Sacerdos,'* 
writer  (under  Diocletian)  of  an  extant  ars  granimatica,  to- 
gether with  a  treatise  on  metre;  Terentianus^  (Maurus), 
from  Mauretania,  likewise  under  Diocletian,  who  wrote  an 
elementary  book,  de  Uteris,  syllabis,  metris,  of  which  the  por- 
tion devoted  to  metre  has  been  preserved;^  luba'''  (about 
300),  probably  from  Africa,  writer  of  an  elementary  f>ook 
on  metre,  which  was  much  used  by  later  writers  ;  Marius 
Victorinus^  (about  350),  writer  of  an  extant  treatise  on 
metre,  also  oi  commentaries  on.  the  Pauline  Epistles;  ^lius 
Donatus^  (about  350),  writer  of  a  grammar,  and  a  com- 
mentary on  Terence,  —  both  extant,  the  commentary,  how- 
ever, not  in  its  original  form  ;  Flavius  Charisius  •"  (about 


1  T.  ii.  224;  C.  463.  3  T.  ii.  278.  5  t.  ii.  327. 

2  T.  ii.  235 ;   C.  467.  4  T.  ii.  326. 

6  In  describing  the  different  metres,  he  always  employs  the  metre  of 
which  he  is  treating. 

7  T.  ii.  291.  8  T.  ii.  360.  9  T.  ii.  364.  w  T.  ii.  378. 


132  ROMAN    LITERATURE. 

380),  writer  of  a  grammar,  a  part  of  which  is  extant; 
Diomedes,  who  wrote  in  the  same  period,  and  often  cov- 
ered the  same  ground  as  Charisius ;  Servius  Honoratus* 
(about  390),  writer  of  a  commentary  on  Virgil, — very  valuable 
in  subject-matter  ;  Priscianus'^  (about  500), writer  of  insti- 
tutiones  gram-maticce,  in  1 8  books,  a  most  complete  grammati- 
cal treatise,  which,  in  connection  with  Donatus,  Diomedes, 
and  Charisius,  was  in  universal  use  in  the  Middle  Ages,  and 
exercised  the  greatest  influence  on  the  treatment  of  gram- 
matical subjects. 

In  the  department  of  Geography,  may  be  mentioned  a 
geographical,  historical  compilation  {Collectanea  rerum  me- 
morabiliu>n),  written  with  little  taste  by  the  grammarian  C. 
lulius  Solinus,^  in  the  middle  of  the  third  century,  —  a 
work  which,  in  the  portion  devoted  to  geography,  was  chiefly 
dependent  upon  the  Naturalis  Historia  of  Pliny;  also,  a 
Cosmography,  from  the  seventh  century,  ascribed  to  a  cer- 
tain .ffithicus  Ister  ;^  moreover,  other  unimportant  writings. 
Of  special  worth  are  the  Itineraria,^  or  guide-books  for  travel- 
lers on  land  and  sea,  which  originated  in  the  fourth  century ; 
moreover,  the  two  catalogues  of  the  regiones  of  Rotne,  the 
Notitia^  and  the  Ciiriosiim  Urbis  Romce  ;  finally,  the  maps,'' 
one  of  which,  made  in  the  time  of  Alexander  Severus,  served 
as  a  basis  for  the  tabula  Peutingeriana,  a  traveller's  map  of 
the  Roman  Empire,  prepared  at  Colmar  in  1265.  I'  ^^^ 
named  after  its  former  owner,  the  learned  Augsburg  coun- 
cillor, Conrad  Peutinger,  and  is  now  in  the  Court  Library  in 
Vienna. 

Astronomy,  or  rather  astrology,  found  a  zealous  fol- 
lower in  the  Sicilian  rhetorician,  Firmicus  Maternus,^ 


1  T.  ii.  413.  3  T.  ii.  312.  5  t.  ii.  366.  '  T.  ii.  78. 

2  T.  ii.  535.  *  T.  ii.  576.  6  t.  ii.  368.  »  T.  i.  71,  ii.  353. 


FIFTH   PERIOD.  133 

who,  in  the  time  of  Constantine  the  Great,  inspired  by  a  holy 
zeal,  wrote  8  books  Mathesios,  from  the  standpoint  of  the 
Neo-Platonic  superstition.  This  pagan  Firmicus  Maternus 
must  not  be  confounded  with  a  contemporary  Christian 
Firmicus  Maternus,  who  addressed  to  the  sons  of  Constan- 
tine the  Great  a  work  de  errore  profanarum  religionum, 
urging  them  on  to  the  annihilation  of  heathendom.  The 
greater  part  of  this  work  is  extant. 

Important  for  Military  Science  is  the  Epitome  rei 
militaris  of  Flavius  Vegetius,^  a  setting  forth  of  Roman 
military  science,  written  about  the  year  390.  Book  I  treats 
of  the  levying  and  training  of  recruits  ;  II,  of  mihtary  disci- 
pHne;  III,  of  war  itself;  IV,  of  the  art  of  siege,  in  partic- 
ular. 

In  Medicine,  may  be  mentioned  a  dispensatory  (de 
medicamentis),  written  under  Theodosius  I,  and  bearing  the 
name  of  a  certain  Marcellus  Empiricus;-  but  especially 
the  two  works  of  Cselius  Aurelianus  ^  of  Numidia,  one, 
a  treatise  on  chronic  and  acute  diseases,"*  and  the  other  a 
medical  catechism.^  Moreover,  in  the  fifth  century  and 
afterwards,  many  medical  writings  were  translated  from  the 
Greek. 

The  partly-extant  work  on  Agriculture  written  by  Gar- 
gilius  Martialis,''  who  lived  in  the  third  century,  belongs 
also  to  medicine,  so  far  as  it  contains  the  art  of  healing 
animals  and  other  medical  references.  Much  was  trans- 
ferred from  this  work  into  that  of  Palladius  Rutilius'' 
(fourth  century)  consisting  of  14  books  relating  to  agricul- 
ture. 

1  T.  i.  75.  ii.  416.  2  T.  ii.  420.  3  x.  ii.  488. 

*  Tardarum  et  celerum,  or  chronicarum  et  acutarum  passionum. 
5  Medicinales  responsiones. 
«  T.  ii.  294.  '  T.  ii.  365. 


134  ROMAN    LITERATURE. 

e,  — Patristic    Literature. 

Among  the  authors  who  wrote  in  the  immediate  interest 
of  the  Christian  Church,  for  the  defense  and  justification  of 
Christianity  against  Paganism,  and  for  the  establishment  and 
development  of  Christian  doctrine  and  form  of  government, 
—  the  so-called  Church  Fathers,^ — the  following  are  worthy 
of  special  mention  :  — 

Minucius  Felix,-  a  Roman  advocate,  wrote,  at  the  close 
of  the  second  century,  the  dialogue  Octavius,  in  which  the 
superiority  of  Christianity  to  Paganism  is  shown,  especially  in 
relation  to  morals  and  civilization.  The  work  is  written  in 
a  scholarly  tone,  reminding  one  of  Cicero  and  Seneca,  and 
in  a  comparatively  natural  style. 

Q.  Septimius  Florens  Tertullianus^  (150-230)  of 
Carthage,  was  a  rhetorician  and  an  advocate  in  Rome,  and 
afterwards  a  presbyter  in  Carthage.  He  was  a  montanist,  and 
an  original,  fiery  spirit,  seeking  to  grasp  the  divine  in  concrete 
form,  an  ascetic  enthusiast  and  a  keen  dialectician.  His 
language  was  full  of  character,  but  arbitrary  and  peculiar. 
Among  his  numerous  writings  the  Apologedcus  of  the  year 
199  is  of  special  worth.  Thascius  Csecilius  Cyprianus,'' 
bishop  of  Carthage,  martyred  in  258,  is  important  in  the  his- 
tory of  church  government  on  account  of  his  work  de  uniiate 
eccIesicE.  Arnobius,^  of  Sicca  in  Numidia,  wrote,  about  295, 
7  books  adversHS  nationcs  (heathen),  in  declamatory,  un- 
even language,  and  without  a  deep  understanding  of  Chris- 
tianity. 

1  T.  ii.  207,  338. 

2  T.  ii.  272;  Holden's  Octavius  of  M.  Felix:  Introd. ;  Schaff:  Hist,  of 
Christian  Church,  i.  525. 

3  T.  ii.  27s  ;  Woodham's  Apology  of  TertuUian  :  Introd. ;   Schaff,  i.  512. 

4  T.  ii.  299 ;  Schaff,  i.  519.  ^  T.  ii.  329 ;  Schaff,  i.  527. 


FIFTH   PERIOD.  135 

On  the  other  hand,  Lactantius  Firmianus '  (under  Dio- 
cletian) ,  a  rhetorician  in  Nicomedia,  and  afterwards  teacher 
of  Crispus,  son  of  Constantine  the  Great,  is  regarded  as  the 
Christian  Cicero,  so  far  as  style  is  concerned.  His  wTitings, 
among  them,  especially,  institutioninn  divinannn  libri  VII, 
exhibit  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  best  classical 
^vriters  and  poets,  and  a  cultivated,  tolerant  mind. 

A  powerful  champion  of  the  glory  of  the  church  was 
Ambrosius,-  who  died  as  bishop  of  Milan  in  398.  He  was 
more  important  on  account  of  his  personal  character  than  on 
account  of  his  writings.  He  took  a  prominent  part  in  ad- 
vancing church  music,  was  a  writer  of  rhymed  hymns^  in 
iambic  dimeters,  but  not  of  the  later  so-called  Ambrosian 
Hymn,  "  Te  Deum  laudamus." 

An  extremely  learned  and  copious  wTiter  was  Hierony- 
mus^  of  Stridon  in  Dalmatia  (336-420),  "  the  disputator  and 
dialectician  of  the  contending  church,"  at  the  same  time  in- 
timately acquainted  with  classical  literature  and  a  connoisseur 
in  Hebrew.  The  most  important  of  his  works  is  the  Latin 
tianslatioi  of  the  BibkJ^  the  foundation  of  the  still  received 
Vulgate. 

By  far  the  most  prominent  of  all  the  Church  Fathers  was 
Aurelius  Augustinus,^  who  was  born  at  Tagasta  in  Nu- 
midia,  354  a.d.,  was  bishop  of  Hippo  Regius,  and  died  in 
430.  He  was  an  extremely  versatile  spirit,  who  united  in 
himself  the  most  varied  gifts  and  talents.  He  was  of  the 
greatest  importance  for  the  development  of  ecclesiastical 
dogma.     Among  his  many  writings  the  22  books  de  chntate 

1  T.  ii.  330 ;  Schaff,  iii.  955.  3  Trench,  86 ;  Schaff,  iii.  590. 

2  T.  ii.  423 ;  Schaff,  iii.  961.  *  T.  ii.  425  ;  Schaff,  iii.  967. 

5  His  translation  of  the  Bible  is  in  its  way  a  masterpiece.  T.  ii.  427; 
Schaff,  iii.  972. 

6  T.  ii.  441 ;  Schaff,  iii.  989. 


136  ROMAN    LITERATURE. 

Dei^  are  most  worthy  of  mention,  a  historical,  philosophical 
work,  which  exhibits  a  thorough  knowledge  of  Roman  and 
Greek  literature,  and  has  preserved  to  us  much  from  both. 
His  coufessiones  is  his  most  popular  work.^ 

Among  the  popes  may  be  named  Leo  the  Great  ^ 
(Leo  I),  pope  440-461,  the  founder  of  the  greatness  of 
the  papal  throne,  and  a  strenuous  defender  of  church  unity. 
His  writings  are  partly  sermones  (delivered  on  festival  occa- 
sions), partly  epistulce,  written  in  comparatively  pure  style. 
Gregory  the  Great "^  (Gregory  I),  pope  590-604,  also 
deserves  mention.  He  was  a  man  of  monastic  tendency, 
disdaining  grammatical  rules  and  worldly  science.  His  most 
important  works  are  his  epistles  and  hymns.  He  was  like- 
wise active  in  the  furtherance  of  church  music. 


1  The  grandest  and  most  characteristic  work  of  later  Roman  literature. 
Schlegel,  138  ;  Schaff,  iii.  loio. 

2  Schaff,  iii.  1005 ;  Shedd's  Introd.  to  Am.  Ed. 

«  T.  ii.  480;  Schaff,  ii.  314.  *  T.  ii.  569. 


SURVEY  OF  ROMAN  LITERATURE. 


138 


ROMAN    LITERATURE. 


1=1 

o 

rt 

ni 

> 

(n 

< 

(n 

(1) 

C 

C  j:: 

0) 

Fi 

P 

Ui 

0! 

rrt 

c 

uu 

01 

Z    ni 


Eh 
H 
O 


o 

JZ 


5 

rt 

'c 
o 

3 

o 

(U 

a 

a-a 

S 

OS 
3 

3 

3 

<Z 

.Q  .Q  J3 

rt 

rrt 

rt 

<  (nfcUn  JU 

rs      t: 


W  ^  -z:  E^  ^  <  0'<!      >  o: 
d-E-I  c?i  Oh'  ^  J  h  J     Z  -i 


M  » 
f^  o 

IS 


FIRST   AND   SECOND    PERIODS. 


m 
O 


S^M 


o     (In  ^ 


p  b  o 

■-3   0, 

3  r-' 

S    3 

(D  5  'n  ?i 

V  tl 

bce_2  c 

Win 

:i^ 

JUJU 

G? 


St: 

rt    . 


CD 

O  to 

+J  to 
G  ^ 

<o 


to.;; 

-J 
to  u 

d  >- 

O  l-rl 

O  r- 


J  a 

r- 

T3  — 

3    S 

c    • 

•ri  p. 

C   o 

rt   3 

O    :- 

c5 

^-h 

s2     .Sii 

w  o 


o  ^-c  — 

X-  =:  rt    . 

fc.E  o  o 
.(J<P- 

2jcJ< 


o 
o 


^H 


C-j  5 


3C/5 


D.      „•       -^  — 


§'       6 


U  J 


->  3'n 
^  ?   . 

.c  o  Sj2 

E      .3C 

O   in  ^    O 

U  .5   3  J 

3    .  ci5    . 


Izi  O 

O  t-H 

WW 
C<3  Ph 


1 46 


ROMAN    LITERATURE. 


P5 

Eh 
H 

o 


o  o3 


n 

CO 

c 

3 

o 

S 

_ 

■p 

(53 

U 

u 

2 

+3 

=  to 

rf    r-t 

a -2 

0) 

to 

;3 

^1 

P. 
0 

•a 

w 

UH 

Oh 

0 

,5 
+3 

S5 

3     . 

•r-t     LO 

hoc 

0-> 

1" 

-  ffl 

S--  tn 


THIRD    PERIOD. 


141 


o 


^    c/ 

fc   3 

g  !> 

•n 

.2m 

Philol 

an 

rchso 

M 

3 

Si 

,5 

K  =3 

>   . 

< 

a, 

U> 

^z: 

d 

.+3 

0 

m 

UJ 

3 

9S 

> 

0 

.2 
'S 

0 

to  3 

r" 

Or-  i) 

03 

<J 

05 

M 

Pij 

§ 

hJ 

:) 

Hd 

CO 

S 

<U 

0 

-a 

p^ 

0 

u 

r^   6fi 

0 

u 

;? 

PL. 

0 

d 

t^: 

rt 

. 

. 

"B 

0       <« 

s 

>J 

3 

(fl 

ttj 

■^       K 

> 

o  ~ 

(D-j 

OS 


CO-  1 

OS 


c     > 


<< 


ocy 


cu  3     5  2 


O  3    .S       ft« 


ri;;; 


«;■< 


to  to 

3  ^ 

tn 

2 

St 

•r-t 

> 

!2;cQ 

< 

<s 

i-I 

&3  O   'J  -. 

at— I   V  < 


142 


ROMAN    LITERATURE. 


O 

fin 


C/3 

i  I  -2 

•r-t       C       ^ 

^  S3 
EC  <  {/: 


-       S      :M      C« 


CO 

§1 


_rt      ^ 


-•     .^      a 

rt      :=       a! 
>      C«      &- 


Ho    "^ 


FOURTH    PERIOD. 


143 


72 

o 

Oh 


Mathemat 
ics  and  Ai 
chitecture 

3 
c 

c 
0 

3 
C 
't/j 
>, 

X 

Philology 
and  Ar- 
chaeology. 

U 

3  2 

11 

Valer. 

Probus. 
Asconius 
Pedianus. 
PI  in  i  us 

maior. 
/?^inil.  As- 

U 

i  1 

c 

5—3 

a.  1;  M 

Ph 

.    3 

D.'B 

S  0 
^^ 

3 
c 

Si  C 

a  0 

m  to    • 

•5.s§-a.s 


lull 

o     -n  3 

^-  2  <  •  -  ■«  3  S 
2  a  i,-  o  ;;;  ©  ^  ._ 

"  '^  ?  E  23  5*  -^  "^ 

u-  >     > 


to  ^   c^ 


c 

2aJ 

3 

q3 

rt 

kX 

H 

rt 

3  -— 

3 

r 

0) 

si 

■9 

I: 
0 

>a.o 

fa 

0 

144 


ROMAN    LITERATURE. 


m 
O 

m 

o 

Apuleius. 
(M.  Aurelius.) 

Roetius. 

o 

Pi 

o 

Corn.  Fronto. 

Apuleius. 

Symmachus. 

O 

w 

Suetonius. 
Florus. 

L.  Anipelius. 
Graiiius  Licinianus. 

Marius  Maxinius. 

Scriptores     historias 
Augustte. 

Amnaian.  Marcel- 
linus. 

Eutropius. 
Aurelius  Victor. 

Notitia  dignitatum. 
Sulpicius  Severus. 
Orosius. 

Cassiodorius. 
Gildas. 
Gregorius  Turon. 

Eh 
H 
O 

as 

3 
C 

.5 
> 
< 

it 

o 
a. 
W 

Nemesianus. 
Vettius  luvencus. 

Festus  Avienus. 

Aurel.  Prudentius. 

Ausonius. 

Claudius  Claudianus. 

Rutilius  Namatianus. 

Apollinaris  Sidonius. 
Dracontius. 

Venantius  Fortunatus. 

V  Q          8             8                     8                   8 

M 

FIFTH    PERIOD. 


145 


03 

3 

;,_{ 

ai 

3  rri 

;h 

sS 

a 

oi  fl 

>. 

H 

u 

c 
05s 


<- 


a     -2  a  q  c 


ffi  <j 


-;    o 


CO 

O 


gOQ 


3-5 


^§     - 


boJ 


3   0 

<  P 

a  rt 

^  5. 

a  ^ 

SM 

U 

irt 

B      S 

t/j 

S  ;:  S 

c 

^'^ 

050 

rt  'r: 

0 

rtoi  "ftJ 

?S 

7: 

—    .  0    . 

■■=  XI  'C  ^ 

•9  c^ 

0  t.  a  V- 

h 

ZDU^ 

3 

22 

a 

— 

rt 

T3  • 

OS 


~  5 

a. 


ago 


-u      *"      f^ 
=3  .2    "S 


bo  o 


&< 


<     S  a      — 
o  c'  ?  H 


•Sod    :«• 

0  S.2 

Vict 
onat 

haris 

des. 

.2  3  c 

.aP^^ 

1-1  Sj 


a 

^  CO 


in 

!=l    A 

a  a 


J^  3     -a 


Mo 

o  -^ 


mmO 


Si  §-2 


SO     Kg 


■-T3 
U   o 


u:x- 


a  o 

OH 


INDEX. 


A. 

Accius,  23. 

Acilius  Glabrio,  27. 

Aero,  see  Helenius. 

Acta  senatus,  82. 

Acta  populi,  82. 

yElius  Donatus,  131. 

yElius  Lampridius,  124. 

/Elius  Paetus,  31. 

jElius  Spartianus,  124. 

jElius  Stilo,  32. 

ilSliiis  Tubero,  72. 

/Emilius  Asper,  11 1. 

/Emilius  Papinianus,  128. 

yF.miliiis  Probus,  76. 

yEsopus,  the  tragedian,  38. 

/Ethicus  Ister,  132. 

/Etna,  92. 

Afranius,  22. 

African  latinity,  115. 

Agriculture,  33,  113,  133. 

Agrippa,  see  Vipsanius, 

Agrippina  minor,  gg. 

Albius  Tibullus,  56. 

Ambrosius,  121,  135. 

Ammianus  Marcellinus,  125. 

Ampelius,  124. 

Annajus  Lucanus,  90. 

Annaeus  Seneca,  rhetorician,  106. 

Annaeus  Seneca,  philosopher,  89. 

Tragedies,  89. 

Satire,  93. 

Philosophical  writings  and  epistles, 
108. 
Annates  maximi,  12. 
Annales  pontificum,  12. 


Annalists,  26,  27,  28. 
Anthropology,  112. 
Antistius  Labeo,  84,  no. 
Antonius,  M.,  orator,  30. 
ApoUinaris  Sidonius,  117. 
Apuleius,  120,  121. 
Archaeology,  32,  84,  129. 
Archaic  prose,  25,  26. 
Architecture,  83,  84. 
Arithmetic,  83,  131. 
Arnobius,  134. 
Arruntius  Stella,  97. 
Artes  liberales,  83,  131. 
Artistic  Drama,  16,  17,  18. 
Asconius  Pedianus,  in. 
Asinius  Pollio,  59,  79,  81. 
Astrology,  132. 
Astronomy,  33,  112,  131,  132. 
Ateius  Capito,  84,  no. 
Atellanae,  10,  16. 
Atticus,  see  Pomponius. 
Aufidius  Bassus,  99. 
Augustinus,  135. 
Augustus,  78,  98. 
Aurelius  Cassiodorius,  126. 
Aurelius  Symmachus,  120. 
Aurelius  Victor,  124. 
Ausonius,  see  Magnus. 
Avianus,  119. 
Avienus,  see  Festus. 

B. 

Bathyllus,  39. 
Boetius,  see  Manlius. 
Book-trade.  ^4,  37,  87. 
Botany,  1 12. 

147 


148 


ROMAN    LITERATURE. 


C. 

Caecilius  Cyprianus,  134. 
Caelius  Antipater,  28. 
Caelius  Aurelianus,  133. 
Caelius  Rufus,  59. 
Caesar,  see  lulius. 

Caesius  Bassus,  92,  97. 

Calidius,  59. 

Calpurnius  Piso  Frugi,  28. 

Carmen,  8. 

Carmen  Arvalium,  see  Sacred  songs. 

Carmen  Saliare,  see  Sacred  songs. 

Carmina  Triumphalia,  9. 

Cassiodorius,  see  Aurelius. 

Cassius  Hemina,  28. 

Cassius  Longinus,  no. 

Cassius  Severus,  59. 

Catullus,  see  Valerius. 

Celsus,  see  Cornelius. 

Charisius,  see  Flavius. 

Chronicles,  13,  26. 

Church  Fathers,  134. 

Cicero,  see  Tullius. 

Cincius  Alimentus,  27. 

Claudius  Cascus,  13. 

Claudius  Claudianus,  117. 

Claudius,  Imperator,  98,  no. 
Claudius  Quadrigarius,  29. 
Cluvius  Rufus,  99. 
Codex  Gregorianus,  128. 
Codex  Hermogenianus,  128. 
Codex  lustinianeus,  128. 
Codex  Theodosianus,  128. 
Columella,  see  Moderatus. 
Comedy,  17,  22. 
Commentarii  magistratuum,  12. 
Commentarii  pontificum,  12. 
Commentarii  regum,  12. 
Contaminare,  18. 
Cornelius  Celsus,  113. 
Cornelius  Fronto,  119. 
Cornelius  Gallus,  53. 
Cornelius  Nepos,  75. 
Cornelius  Sisenna,  28. 
Cornelius  Sulla,  28. 
Cornelius  Tacitus,  loi. 
Cornificius,  31. 


Corpus  iuris,  128. 
Crassus,  L.,  orator,  30, 
Cremutius  Cordus,  98. 
Curiatius  Maternus,  89. 
Curio,  sg. 

Curiosum  urbis  Romae,  132. 
Curtius  Rufus,  100. 
Cyprianus,  see  Caecilius. 


Dialectics,  83,  131. 

Didactic  poetry,  37    ^g,  40,  92,  116,  118. 

Digesta,  129. 

Diomedes,  132. 

Domestic  economy,  33. 

Domitius  Ulpianus,  128. 

Donatus,  see  yElius. 

Dracontius,  118. 

Drama,  9,  16,  38,  89. 

E. 

Edictum  perpetuum,  127. 

Elegy,  52. 

Encyclopaedic  literature,  82,  112,  129. 

Ennius,  14,  15,  18,  22,  24. 

Epic  poetry,  8,  23,  37,  39,  88,  90,  116,  117 

Epicureanism,  65. 

Epigram,  97,  116,  117. 

Epistle  (poetical),  39,  40,  48,  ti6,  117 

Epistle  (prose),  68,  107,  no,  120. 

Epitaphs,  9. 

Erotic  poetrj',  52,  53,  56,  57. 

Eutropius,  125. 

Exodium,  10,  16. 

F. 

Fable,  96,  119. 
Fabius  Pictor,  26. 
Fabius  Quintilianus,  106. 
Fabius  Rusticus,  99. 
Fabula  palliata,  17. 
Fabula  prastexta,  22. 
Fabula  rhinthonica,  19. 
Fabula  togata,  22. 
Fasti,  12. 
Fescennini,  10. 


INDEX. 


149 


Festus  Avienus,  118. 
Festus,  see  Pompeius. 
Firmicus  Maternus,  132. 
Flavius  Caper,  11 1. 
Flavius  Charisius,  131. 
Flavius  Merobaudcs,  117. 
Flavius  Vegetius,  133. 
Flavius  Vopiscus,  124. 
Florus,  123. 

Fragmenta  Vaticana,  128. 
Frontinus,  see  lulius. 
Fronto,  see  Cornelius. 


Gaius,  127. 

Gargilius  Martialis,  133. 

Gellius,  129. 

Genus  Asiaticum,  30,  58. 

Genus  Atticum,  31,  58. 

Genus  Rhodium,  58. 

Geography,  33,  84,  85,  112,  132. 

Geometry,  83,  131. 

Germanicus,  92. 

Gildas,  126. 

Gracchus,  C,  30. 

Grammar,  see  Philology. 

Granius  Licinianus,  124. 

Gratius  Faliscus,  45. 

Greek  influence,  2,  7,  14,  30,  34,  64. 

Gregorius  I  (Magnus),  136. 

Gregorius  Turonensis,  126. 

H. 

Helenius  Aero,  131. 
Herennius  Modestinus,  128. 
Hexameter,  24. 
Hieronymus,  135. 
Hirtius,  75. 
Historical  songs,  8 
History,  16,  26,  72,  88,  98,  122. 
Horatius,  46,  51. 

Satires,  47. 

Epistles,  48. 

Odes,  49. 

Epodes,  50. 
Horace  and  Virgil,  51. 


Hortensius,  30. 
Hyginus,  85. 

Hyginus  (Surveyor),  iii. 
Hymns  to  the  dead,  9. 


Idyll,  39,  40,  42,  116,  117. 

Iguvinse  tabulae,  9. 

Institutiones,  129. 

lordanis,  126. 

Italic  language  and  dialects,  3. 

Itineraria,  132. 

luba,  131. 

lulius  Caesar,  59,  73. 

lulius  Capitolinus,  124 

lulius  Frontinus,  in. 

lulius  Paulus,  128. 

lulius  Solinus,  132. 

lunius  luvenalis,  95. 

lus  ^lianum,  32. 

lus  Flavianum,  13,  31. 

lus  Papirianum,  12. 

lustinus,  82. 

luvencus,  see  Vettius. 


Laberius,  Dec,  39. 

Lactantius  Firmianus,  135. 

Latin  language,  3. 

Laudationes  funebres,  13. 

Law,  i6,  31,  83,  no,  11$,  127,  130. 

Leges  XII  tabularum,  13. 

Leges  regiae,  12. 

Leo  I  (Magnus),  136. 

Libraries,  35. 

Libri  lintei,  12. 

Libri  magistratuum,  12. 

Libri  pontificum,  12. 

Licinius  Calvus,  52. 

Licinius  Macer,  29. 

Livius  Andronicus,  18,  22,  23. 

Livius,  T.,  79. 

Lucanus,  90. 

Lucilius,  C,  25. 

Lucilius  Junior,  92 

Lucretius,  40. 

Ludicrum  Oscum,  lo. 


15° 


ROMAN    LITERATURE, 


Luscius  Lavinius,  21. 
Lutatius  Catullus,  28. 
Lyric  poetry,  37,  49,  50,  52,  96, 

M. 

Maccius  Plautus,  19. 
Macrobius,  130. 
Maecenas,  41,  46. 
Magnus  Ausonius,  116. 
Mago,  33. 
Manilius,  45. 
Manlius  Boetius,  121. 
Marcellus  Empiricus,  133. 
Marcus  Aurelius,  115. 
Marius  Maximus,  124. 
Marius  Victorinus,  131. 
Martialis,  see  Valerius. 
Martianus  Capella,  130. 
Masurius  Sabinus,  110. 
Mathematics,  33,  11 1,  122. 
Medicine,  83,  112,  113,  133. 
Mela,  see  Pomponius. 
Memmius,  59. 
Merobaudes,  see  Flavius. 
Military  writings,  iii,  113,  133. 
Mime,  38,  89. 
Mineralogy,  112. 
Minucius  Felix,  134. 
^toderatus  Columella,  113. 
Monumentum  Ancyranum,  79. 
Mucius  Scsevola,  P.  and  Q.,  32. 
Music,  83,  131. 

N. 

Naevius,  18,  22,  24. 

Namatianus,  see  Rutilius. 

Nemesianus,  n8. 

Neniae,  see  Hymns  to  the  dead. 

Nepos,  see  Cornelius. 

Nero,  90. 

New  Academy,  65. 

Nigidius  Figulus,  84. 

Nonius  Marcellus,  130. 

Notitia  dignitatum,  127, 

Notitia  Urbis  Romae,  132. 

Novellae,  129. 

Novius,  16. 


Octavia,  praetexta,  89. 

Ofilius,  84. 

Oratory,  16,  29,  88,  105,  1 19. 

Orosius,  126. 

Ovidius,  53. 


Pacuvius,  22. 

Palladius  Rutilius,  133. 

Palliata,  17. 

Pandects,  129. 

Panegyric  Literature,  115. 

Pantomime,  39,  89. 

Papinianus,  see  .^milius. 

Papinius  Statius,  91,  97. 

Patristic  literature,  115,  134. 

Pedo  Albinovanus,  40. 

Persius  Flaccus,  93. 

Pervigilium  Veneris,  116. 

Petronius  Arbiter,  94. 

Peutingeriana  tabula,  132. 

Phsedrus,  96. 

Philology,  32,  83,  84,  no,  122,  129,  131, 

Philosophy,  64,  108,  113,  121,  130. 

Plautus,  see  Maccius. 

Plinius  maior,  99,  112. 

Plinius  minor,  107. 

Plotius  Sacerdos,  131. 

Pompeius  Festus,  84. 

Pompeius  Trogus.  82. 

Pomponius,  L.,  16. 

Pomponius  Atticus,  69,  72. 

Pomponius  Mela,  112. 

Pomponius  Porphyrio,  131. 

Pomponius  Serundus,  89. 

Pomponius,  Sextus,  Jurist,  127. 

Popular  Epos,  8,  23. 

Porcius  Cato  censorius,  27,  30,  32,  33. 

Porphyrio,  see  Pomponius. 

Postumius  Albinus,  27. 

Praetexta,  22. 

Priscianus,  132. 

Proculus,  see  Sempronius. 

Propertius,  57. 

Provincial  literature,  37,  114. 


INDEX. 


15 1 


Prudentius  Clemens,  116. 
Publilius  Syrus,  39. 
Pylades,  39. 

Q- 

Quinctius  Atta,  22. 
Quintilianub   see  Faoius. 


Rabirius,  40. 

Recitationes,  37. 

Remmius  Palaemo,  iii. 

Rhetoric,  50,  58,  88,  105,  113,  114,  119, 

131- 
Rhetorica  ad  Herennium,  31. 
Ritual  precepts,  9. 
Roscius,  comedian,  38. 
Rutilius  Namatianus,  118. 
Rutilius  Rufus,  28. 


Sabinus,  see  Masurius. 

Sacred  songs,  9. 

Sallustius,  76. 

Salvius  lulianus,  T27. 

Satire,  25,  37,  40,  45,  47,  92,  97. 

Satura,  10,  16,  25. 

Satura  Menippea,  45. 

Saturnius  versus,  8. 

Scribonius  Largus,  113. 

Scriptores  historia;  Augustae,  124. 

Semproniiis  Asellio,  28. 

Sempronius  Proculus,  no. 

Sempronius  Tuditanus,  28. 

Seneca,  rhetorician,  see  Annseus. 

Seneca,  philosopher,  see  Annseus. 

Septimius  Florens  TertuUianus,  134. 

Servius  Honoratus,  132. 

Sextii  Nigri,  65. 

Sidonius,  see  Apollinaris. 

Silius  Italicus,  91. 

Sisenna,  28. 

Solinus,  see  lulius. 

Stage,  the,  in  Rome,  10. 

Statins  Caecilius,  21. 

Statius,  see  Papinius. 

Stoicism,  65,  log. 


Suetonius,  122. 
Sulla,  see  Cornelius. 
Sulpicia,  97. 

Sulpicius  Apollinaris,  131. 
Sulpicius  Galba,  30. 
Sulpicius  Rufus,  84. 
Sulpicius  Severus,  126. 
Surveyors,  161. 
Symmachus,  see  Aurelius. 


Tacitus,  see  Cornelius. 

Terentianus,  131. 

Terentius,  P  ,  20. 

Terentius  Scaurus,  131. 

Terentius  Varro,  polyhistor,  45,  82 

Terentius  Varro  Atacinu>,  40. 

TertuUianus,  see  Septimius. 

Theatre  in  Rome,  17. 

Tiberius,  98. 

Tibullus,  see  Albius. 

Titinius,  22. 

Togata,  22. 

Tragedy,  22. 

Treaties,  11. 

Trebatius  Testa,  84. 

Trebellius  Pollio,  124. 

Tribonianus,  128. 

Triumph,  songs  of,  9. 

Tucca,  44. 

Tullius  Cicero,  59. 

Epic  Poems,  40. 

Orations,  62. 

Rhetorical  writings,  68. 

Philosophical  works,  64. 

Letters,  68. 

Historical  works,  72. 

Character,  71. 

V  (U). 

Valerius  Antias,  29. 
Valerius  Catullus,  52. 
Valerius  Flaccus,  91. 
Valerius  Martialis,  97. 
Valerius  Maximus,  100. 
Valerius  Messala,  59,  79 
Valerius  Probus.  in. 


152 


ROMAN    LITERATURE. 


Varius,  L.,  40,  44. 
Varro,  see  Terentius. 
Vegetius,  see  Flavius. 
Velius  Longus,  iii. 
Velleius  Paterculus,  99. 
Venantius  Fortunafjs,  118. 
Vergiliiis,  41,  51. 
Verrius  Flaccus,  84. 
Vespasianus,  99,  m. 


Vettius  Aquilius  luvencus,  117. 
Victorinus,  see  Marius. 
Vipsanius  Agrippa,  79,  85. 
Vitruvius  Pollio,  85. 
Ulpianus,  see  Domitius. 
Volcacius  Gallicanus,  124. 


Zoology,  112. 


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